Frank B. Robinson's personal scrapbook

DR. F . B . ROBINSON AT THE CONSOLE OF HIS PIPE ORGAN
Purcha~ Corner at Jackson
We~t Thirdj May 1\love
Bus mess
Psychlana. Inc., Moscow concern
se!Ung in.structlon in religion
through the mall, has purchased
!rom H. R. Short t.be property at
the corner of Jackson and West
Third streets. it was announced to­day
by Dr. F. B. Robinson, presi­dent.
The consideration was not an­nounced.
The lot includes about a
quarter of a block and a frame
structure which is being used at
present as a rooming house. It was
used by the Short undertaking
est.ablishment before the present
chapel was built on First street.
Dr. Robinson said Psychiana will
move into the buUding provided
the lease on the present location
in the Bratton building on East
Third street is sold. Some remod­elUng
will be necessary before th~
contemplated move is made. He
said the company will probably
buHd on the corner within the next
two years. -------
INSTALLS ORGAN
IN CITY RESIDENCE
Dr .. F. B. Robinson First
I nland Empire to Get
Instrument
The first residence pipe organ to
be installed in the Inland Emp!t·c
will be operating soon In the home
of Dr. Frank B. Robinson, l:t2 south
Howard street. It is built by the
French Organ company of Cincin­nati.
Dr. Robinson purcba<>ed the in­strument
for his own pleasure and
to use in connection \\lth has r..tdlO
broadcasts, which will be rcsu111ed
soon on a larger scale over c.1ast
stations by Psychlana Brotherhood,
of which Dr. Robinson is the found­er
and president.
Varied Tone
The instrument contains cir;ht
sets of pipes, and 1s equappcd wltll
54 couplers and stopkeys and 10
comoination pistons, giving the or­ganist
severa~ hundred diftcrt'n~
Lone and color combinations.
A sound-proof chaml.Jc~· to house
the organ proper hM been f)uilL Into
the basement of the resldeJH:c. and
another sound-proof 1·oom llou::;es
the motor and blowe1·. The motor
delivers a ten-inch wind pressure
to the instrument. l'lle Lone dueL
leads to a grill cut !nto Lhc floor or
the di:ting room. The console. or m·\­hogany,
is recessed inlo till' living
room wall and is of the th.·~"'· man-t.:
al and pedal type. .
Installing the instrumcn" !:; Bll­com
& Provorse. Soattle. '>'lto re­cently
installed the org~n 11\ lht'!
new Fox theatre of Spokane.
rsfcut\NA JttEcts932
OFFICERS FOR 1932
Report 10,000 Students En­rolled
for Correspondence
Course Here
Through advertising in magazines
and newspapers with circulations
totalling several millions. it was
reported at the ann~al stoekhold:
rs' meeting of Psych1ana, Inc .. hela
u the company's offices Thursda:,'
night that 10.000 active students
n 74 countries were now emolled
for correspondenc~ ('Ourses and thn~
,1e.. concern's busmess volume ha:;
real'llcd $250.000 annually.
Thl' present officers were re­elected
by unanimous vote. ThE>Y
are Dr. Frank B. Robinson, presi­dent."
Oscar M. Anderson. vice
president; Pearl B. Robinson. sec
retary-treasurer; George Bc~1son.
Elmer Anderson, and E. W. Phllllps
directors.
Volume Jumped
"Starting a year ago last. April
and~perating throug~ a pc~·1od _ot
depression.'' the prestdent t cpox L­ed
"our business volume has in­creased
so much that offices and
equipment have been enlarged
and the payroll increased to 10
people drawing salaries amou~tlng
to $20 000 per year. Over 3,000 plCCCS
of mail goes out from our o!flc
every day and this concern has be­come
the 1ar1~est patro~ of the
Moscow post.office. spendt!;lg about
a year for po~~ge.
Through an advertlSmg appropri­ation
placed for this :year at. $35,000,
1t was said that cxrculat10n has
been doubled within six months. A
new course, Dr. Robinson. sn!d, !S
enrolling students. !out· ~1mc~ _as
fast as the former mstructxon m 1 c­llgious
psychology.
ctor With New Idea Puts
tittle City on Map; World
Tums Eyes Toward Moscow
Or. Robinson in his now car which ho hal purohaaod to •n•'blo
h im to better move about awlftly In t.lo dally work.
The Inland Empire city of i\tos·j wh1ch M• b t w comes far nearer by the quarter mllJion
cow, Idaho, is rast winning nation· to tho u·u•ll lhnn the olu crel'ds l:n five ton lots.
a.1 and international fame, even and traditions thnt htnc been
more so than the city of a similar handed down from time lmme- PERSONAL MAIL.
name in far orr Russia. mori~l 'l'housnnds no\\ believe in IS H EAVY ONE
One man has made this possiblE", hb phiiOSOI>h>· Last year be purchaaed a quar·
Dr. Frank B. Robinson, rounder of Thero v.as a time a few rears ter block in Moscow and today tn
Payr.hiana, Inc., tho D(>W rell~ion ago "hen the doctor was working his home Is a pipe organ from
ba,;~>d upon natural Jaws and right )n a drug ston• In ;\loscow In order which be derives much pleasure.
ll\lng. to liUI>POrt his wife and family. He owns a fast car.
Dr. Robinson's teachings have One da>' brs dcllbC'ratlons seemed His personal mail hs so heavy
Teacbed so far and wide into the to havA renc:hPd a conclusion. He .that he is unable to pcrsonBIIY lllf>U
~·orld that now he has followers In went to his study and began to all the letters.
74 countries. The mail at tho :\los· write. Hour alter hour hP kept at The new work brought on the
cow post office has grown to thE' worl(, forgetting rood and sleep. is~uing or a monthly Mtlonnl ru~tg·
enormom portions, making It a After 36 houri! his wol'k wa.'l com- azme and the writing of thrc('
tint-class post office in the eyes of plctod. books wltich ba.ve had a phe·
the department at Washington. BUSIN ESS MEN nomena l sale. T hey a re "Anterlca
Burning desire to flnd a new HELPED HIM Awakening," "The God Nobody
answer to the secr~t of life _caused Tho now book. "PI:IYChlana," was Knows," and "Secret of Reallza.·
Dr. Robinson to brlnll." out h1s Idea. ! mmC'cllntPiy ~Pnt. 10 Washington tion." Thousands of metobl'r' arP
For vears be had stud1ed the Ques· tor r.opywrltln~. joining his bt·otherhood. Dr Robin·
tlon But tho tlocto1· hnd no funds ex- son lS a F ellow of the Am~>rirAn So
HUNTED FOR A cept his clrug slOrt' salary. Busi- clety for Psychl9l R~>tot'l!rch :utd R
NEW SECRET Dell!! men or th•l dty backed him, :J~:ber of the Amen can Ali!IOi'la·
Trained for the mmtstry, Dr. ralalng a fund or $2600 to start tbe ence for the Ad\ancement of Sci·
~oblnson did not believe thf' dor· work that. would carrr the nevr · · trin~>s taught him so be took up an Idea to the \\Orld. .\ pa~e of ad· SELL.S SHARES
indep.,ndent. sci.,n•ific and Bibllral verllaing WM purchasrd in a na· TO INVESTORS
TPIIP.!Irch with the resuH that hfl tiona! announc~ment. So great was He rece1v~!' more tel•~rllmf. than
formulatPd a philo"'ophy of Jlfp the respouso that within a rear Dr. any one man In th" Inland Empire
Robinson's teaehlngs were going and hls seniCOC"!I are In tr"•' de·
F;~::=;;=;:7;;?=ffiriffi6iiliiffii!f?~~ into 6i different nations and today mand for lectur .. ~<, which of ~ourse.
tb~>y reach i4. h .. cann<'t fill brrau"'" of hll! h~'lWY
Dr. Robinson and his friends did duties at !IIosco.,.,. H" has three
not think at first that. the work of different doctor dN:.ces. ono oC
dhartbutlon would be very bard. Dh·inity, anoth~>r or Pllllo5ophy
He <:ontinnP.d to .... ork In the drug and anoth~>r of Pt~ycholoo:,·.
fltore by clnv aud attend to the "A religion tha~ r<lln he n rom·
mailing by ni~ht. nut the requests fort and bappin~=-s to mankind
tor hill t(>achings caruo In by thou· must. aid in solving the nrohlrms or
1anda so lhat now he mu11t 1\eep the buman racp;• said nr. Hobin
rrom 10 to 15 )lcople steadil~ em- :<on. "Men and wQm~>n want flllc·
:ployecl In thr. mailing del)artment Cf'SS, materially, in happlnPt~K nod
atone. r~nv!'IOl)CR arc purchased h\ health. Prom!se11 of a llrr of
ease after death do not fulflll thE'
desire o.f mankind. PRyrhlnna's
teachings IU!sun' thro'o rnt'lfl."
In order to ful"tbar facllltato dill·
tribution of his teachinga, Dr.
R~blnson is issuing a. serlea of
:<hares to inves tors. ThNI<' flhl\res
a1·e pl edged to pa> dl\"ldend11 t.wlco
yearly. An adverllsement tn t~ n­other
part of t.his l.ssue tells his
story.
GROWS fROM ONE WORKER TO 22
IN PERIOD Of ONlY fOUR YEARS
Moscow Revi ew Nov. ~~~·~1~9~3~3~----------------­New
Building on Third and Jack·
son Marks Four-Year Growth
of "Psychiana."
The announcement of construc­t
ion of a new one-story brick
building on "Psych1ann" property
a t Third and J ackson, taking the
place of the presen t building
which was formerly occupied by
Short's funeral home, brings to
mind the start of the Institution
four years ago.
Dr. Frank B. Robinson, trained
for the ministry but working in
a drug store as a reglatered phar­macist,
doubting th<' older doc­trines,
coupled the known discov­eries
of science with paychologlca!l
Jaws, and tor:mu latP<l R ph ilosophy
of llte which appeared I'CR!IOnable,
true. and which could be applied
by all In e>eryday life.
Form Corporation.
Having no money for the spread
of this philosophy, he borrowed
smaJI amounts from :-\eel Phillips,
Geor~e Benson. Oscar Anderson.
and Elmer F. Anderson, now busi­ness
manager or the Robinson in­terests.
The small corporation
formed then paid 125 per cent
dividends In four ye!ll'll. Last sum­mer
Dr. Robinson bou~ht up at a
premium all the 11tock and dls­~>
OlYed the corporation.
After navlng the cour e printed,
there wa6 enough Cll!!h left to pay
!or one advertlsenwnt. which
brou~bt In $13,000 of bu,;lncss. In
one rear the cour~os wtre going
into 6'i countrle". Dr. Robinson,
when be started. wrote nil the ad­verli-
·ments, and ,till does l>O.
Worked at Night.
\\'ben the corporot!on started,
Dr. Robinl'on worked In the drug
st01'0 and mailed at nigh l. All di­rectors
or the Mrporation wol'lted
at night in tbe fi rst office. a litVle
rnOill 111 t h(' Prquhn1·t h IIIII!"~· It
soon ocrlnntr rt ce r hire r.
girl and then Dr. Robinson worked
'1\'ith 1t half-time. finally devoting
all his time to ''Psychiana."
Six months later "P,ychlana"
w11.s moved to the bulhllng now
occupied by the Queen City Prinr­hlg
company. and 11 year later the
(·orporation bought the quarteT
block which is tbe present prop­erty.
They were then employing
six work<>rs.
:Build New Office.
Xow with the building of the
new offiCP, over ·lOOO feet of floor
spa<'~ will be available Cor the 22
employees of "P,;ych!nna." Two
multigraph machine~ nre used and
a ·large volume of printing Is done
by the Review Puhll!lhlng com­pan)
·. ) fore than 25,1100 pl~>re;:; of
printed Hterature Is sent out dally.
and one ton of paper I u e<l eYery
two weeks. Students no~\' rmmber
150,000.
Th<> payroll of all lh" Robinson
Interests in Moscow Cap's Drug
Store, University J'> hn.r macy, Re­..,
·iew Publishing compnny, and
"Psychtana"-ls now nhout $-t0.-
000 11 year-, and an .1: .111al hu<;i­nes.-.
of se,·eral hund n:tl thousand
dollnr:: !G transacted.
Dr. Robinson has re<"ently been
in corre»-pondence with worl<l lead­ers.
lnclud!ng President Roo:!evelt
and l\fussollni.
)lore than $100,000 I~ now be­Ing
spent for 11at1onal ndvertlslng.
"P.sychtana" and a>~!>OC l nrecl en­terprises
have often been caned
the largest comme1·ctal ns.<tet )!oo­<'
OW po!lSesses.
MOSCOW TO HAVE
NEW NEWSPAPER
PsychianR Owner Buys and Will
Move Elk River Plant-W. T.
Marineau in Charge.
MOSCOW, Idaho, June 7.-Dr.
B. Robinson. owner of Psychi­)
J~ow institution, hll~ pur·
the plant and good .-111 of the
The Presbyterian Banner
"Psychiana-A
New Religion"
By CLIFFORD M. DRURY
THERE is a big signboard along the road which
co~es. into this city of mine from the south. On
this s1gnboard one can read the following mes­sage:
11Moscow, Idah~Known the world over as the
home of Psychiana- the New Psychological Religion."
Dr. Frank B. Robinson, the founder and promoter
of this new religion, came to Moscow in the spring of
1929 and worked in a local drug store as a licens<'d
pharmacist. I met him and his family soon after he
came, and have known him intimately these inter­vening
years. I have seen the movement, which be
started in the early part of 1930, grow until it has now
reached inquirers in 67 different countries. To date
from 125,000 to 150,000 different people have pul­chased
one of his courses, or one of the three books he
has written, or are members of his Brotherhood or I
subscribe to his magazine.
During the past 30 days (I am writing on May 23,
1933) the advertising bill of Psychiana, Inc., has been
in the neighborhood of $10,000. In one month a full­page
advertisement appeared on the back outside
cover of a series of magazines which claimed to reach
some 13,000,000 readers.
Such a movement has already arrived at such pro­portions
that it deserves to be known and studied by
Church people, and especially by ministers. It call­not
be lightly dismissed with a sarcastic remark. No
matter how violently some of us in the churches may
disagree with what Dr. Robinson says and how he says
it, still we must recognize the fact that he is reaching
tens of thousands of people, all over the world whom
seemingly the churches are not reaching. Here i~ a new
religion in its infancy. Here is a movement that has
just been born which may rank in the very near fu­ture
with such movements as Christian Science.
Letters in increasing numbers are coming to the pas­tors
of the various denominations in Moscow asking
for information. I have received my share. I feel
therefore that the time has come for a fuller and m01e
detailed knowledge of this new religion to be given to
the readers of the religious press. I write from my
own personal knowledge of Dr. Robinson and also
from a signed statement which he gave me, at my r~­quest,
in which he summarized the history and present
extent of Psychiana. I do not write to pass judgment,
but rather to give the facts as impartially as po!'.­sible.
Let us first look at the man himself. Frank B. Rob­inson
was bom in New York City 48 years ago. His
father was a Baptist minister who moved with his
8 The author of this non-committal description of the speet:tcular rise
o£ a new cult i~ the J)Ut;or of First Presbyterian church at Moeeow
Idaho, who formerly was pastor of the American church at Sbanll'hat'
China. lte Ia a flraduntc of San Francisco Theololl'ieal Seminary. '
family to the north of England several years after
Frank was born. It appears that the father was se­vere
in his discipline and that as the son grew older
he resented the treatment received in the home. The
boy had a deep religious nature which bordered upon
the mystical.
In his teens, the young man left England for On­tario,
Canada. He put himself through a school 0f
pharmacy in Toronto and by 21 was a registered
pharmacist. While in Toronto his interest in religion
continued. He became a member of the Alexander
choir. In Toronto, also, he attracted the attention
of Elmore Harris, who at that time was president of
McMaster University and was both the controlling
and the financial impulse behind the Bible Training
School in Toronto. Dr. Harris urged Robinson to study
for the ministry, and by assisting in a financial way
made it possible for him to go through McMaster
University and the Bible Training School.
He was ordained to the Baptist ministry and for
• 1 some su months was engaged in evangelistic work.
However, due to the doubts he had regarding many
fac~ of the Christian religion, Robinson gave up tbe
active work of the ministry. Dr. William James, the
famous psychologist of Harvard had been invited to
give the graduating address to the class of McMaster
University to which Robinson belonged. This con­tact
led to a friendship which lasted for many years.
It prompted Robinson to study psychology.
His study of psychology finally led · him into the
study of metaphysics. For three years, 1915-18, he at­tended
the College of Divine Metaphysics at Indian·
apolis, from which institution he received the degree
of doctor of divinity and, recently, the honorary de­gree
of master of science. Previously he bad received
the D.D. degree from McMaster University.
He has traveled abroad, during which travels he vis­ited
Palestine. In 1919 he married the daughter of
Cir.cuit J~dge Leavitt of Klamath county, Oregon, to
which uwon two children have been born Alfred aoe 1 I 0
10, and Florence, age 2. For several years he lived
in southern California. Always there has been in
him a deep religious interest. At various times he was
active in Sunday school work and Christian Endeavor
and assisted in evangelistic services. He was moved
by a restless urge to find a religious experience which
satisfied. He received baptism a second time from Dr.
W. B. Hinson, pastor of the White Temple in Port­land,
and for six months or so following that experi­ence
he showed renewed interest in the Church.
~nd yet even while working in and through the or­gam~
ed. Church, there was with him an ever-growing
conviction that many of the methods and practices of
the Churc~ ~ere bot~ false and futile, and that mar.y
?f the Chnstla~ doctnnes had no claim for uniquen~s,
m that they ex1sted, he became convinced in other re-ligions
before the birth of Jesus. '
As to his beliefs, in spite of accusations to the con­trary,
he is a firm believer in God. To him God is
a divine spiritual Law, which operates whenever con­ditions
are correct. This God is an all-powerful, ever­living
source of all energy. He is not a Christian in
the usual sense of that term, in that he disbelieves in
such doctrines as the virgin birth, the resurrection and
the atonement: Christ was a human being and was
nothing more than what we may become; Christ pos­sessed
the spirit of God to a larger degree than we do,
but not to a larger degree than we may.
As far as the Bible is concerned, it is to him not any
more inspired than some other writings of ancient or
modern times; it is inspired only as it reveals truth.
Dr. Robinson has attracted attention by violent satir­ical
and sometimes abusive attacks upon some Churrh
practices, especially some of those of the Roman Cath­olic
Church. Some of the conservative doctrines of
the Protestant Church have likewise been ridiculed. Tn
some instances be attacks doctrines and beliefs which
have long been given up by thinking Christians, such
as Ussher's chronology which used to be printed in the
margins of the old King James version. These attacks
have served to attract many to his following.
In the summer and fall of 1929, while be was work­ing
in a drug store in Moscow, the idea came to him of
writing out his philosophy of life and his conception
of religion. Gradually the idea took form, and evolved
into that of writing a course in the psychology of reli­gion
and of selling it through a nationwide advertising
campaign. So the first course of lessons was prepared
and mimeographed.
He felt that be needed $2,000 to get his plan started.
This money he succeeded in borrowing from a small
group of Moscow citizens. It is interesting to note
that the original stockholders have received to date
11 5 per cent return on their investment, besides the
compensation which Dr. Robinson himself has re­ceived.
The corporation is now paying him $500 a
month. The present value of the holdings of Psychi­ana,
Inc., makes the stocks worth many times the orig­inal
investment.
As a result of his first advertising venture some
$13,500 came in for the series of lessons, which sold for
$27.50. Before long, Dr. Robinson gave up his posJ­tion
in the drug store and devoted his whole time to the
cause. A second series of lessons followed the first,
and now he is writing a third advanced series. He has
written three books, and issues a new lesson every two
weeks to the members of the Brotherhood. The 46th
lesson in this series has just been written. In addition
he began a ~onthly magazine, all of the articles of
which he writes himself. This magazine is now a quar­terly.
He began with one stenographer, in a rented room
over a grocery store. He soon moved to an empty
store buildin.g, and now Psycbiana, Inc., owns a quar­ter-
block in the heart of the city and a big building in
which a staff of from 15 to 20 girls is busy caring
the exceedingly heavy correspondence. To date he
already made 146,329 separate sales of books,
courses, magazine subscriptions or Brotherhood mem­berships.
His present list of active students totals
26,384. He claims to have sent out at least 3,000 fr~e
series of lessons to students who were unable to pay.
He bas 9,432 enrolled in "Psychiana Brotherhood,"
and has more than 7,000 subscribers to his magazine.
One of the unexpected developments of his teach­ings
was the call for his assistance in faith healing.
Telegrams and long distance telephone calls began
coming in by the score. Now rarely a day passes on
which some appeal does not come beseeching him for
his prayers in healing. So many visitors came to Mo!=­cow
to see him that he had to advertise for them not
to come, as they interfered with his work. Frequent­ly
he takes long trips to see some particular patient
whose case has excited his sympathy. He now drives
a fine Auburn twin-six car.
A new development of the movement which is just
now taking place is the establishment of a clinic in
Moscow to which all of the sick people are invited to
come. In this clinic there would be some of the finest
medical and surgical talent available. He expects to
have here a big hospital in the very near future. He
advertises this clinic to be "a private institution de­voted
to the ethical and scientific practice of medicine
and surgery as an adjunct to the healing power of the
Spirit of God." Already a prominent and well-trained
surgeon, Dr. Charles F. Magee, is associated with him
in this movement. One hardly dares prophesy what
this may develop into. Probably the majority of his
students are people who are seeking physical healing.
His files are crowded with letters from admiring stu­dents
all over the world who testify of their own ac­cord
to the benefit which they have received from
his teachings. He has had correspondence with such
world leaders as our President, Franklin D. Roosevelt,
and M ussolini.
His is an individualistic religion. He is not much in­terested
in the social application of the principles
which be teaches, believing that the individual who un­derstands
his teachings will automatically apply them
to everyday life. Even though it may appear from
some of his writings that he has no use for the Church,
I know from my own contact with him that this is not
altogether the case. One of the characteristics of his
writings is the seemingly contradictory nature of parts
of them. While critical of the organized Church and
even while prophesying its coming doom, still he feels
that there is a place which it should fill in society.
He is both greatly hated and greatly loved. He is
a man of unusual vitality and endurance. He is a
good executive and a born advertiser. Not long ago,
in recognition of his unusual advertising methods, he
was called to New York to address a meeting of na­tional
advertising men. So far he is jealously guard­ing
the use of the name Psychiana and is forbiddi11g
any unauthorized person to go out on a lecture plat­form
under this advertised name.
Surely here is a movement of which we in the Church
should take cognizance. Some of his criticisms of the
Church are justified. Even though many disagree
with him frankly and emphatically on many points,
still we must recognize that he is giving to thousands
just what they want. The sign on the signboard south
of my city states the truth when it tells all who read:
"Moscow, IDAHO
Known the world over as the home of
PSYCHIANA-THE NEW PSYCHOLOGICAL RELIGION"
~oscow Revie~and ~hop pin~ Guide, June 30, 19
uur lntroauctlon
The ownerllhlp and management o! thP. )!Ol!t':l\\' Review
''lHl Shopping Guide Is happy to present to the residents ol
Latah and surroundln~: countle!< thl~; firRt E'tllllon of this n~<w<-
papE:r. We believe Its recepllon will be very warm and
welcome. As the adv<'rtlslng columns of this nnd forth -
coming issues will show wc have a few friend!! In Mo!!Cow an:l
sunounding territory. Mr. Marineau, the Editor and
General )Ianager. has a!lkt>d the owners of this !llliiOr to write
a brief statement of policies etc .. and spenkln~:" !or the ownen
I am happy to do this. The newspaper and printing plant of
Mr. lfarineau was purcha!ted from him primarily because the
pnnting bills of our other Interests w'lrr·,ntctl thf' own·n~ or
a complete printing plant. Last year many thou!;ands of
dollars were spent by us for printing, and the rnpld growth
of our other business Interests has made our own prlntin~
plant advisable.
The ownership of this pap!'r believes that there Is a need
tor a suitable perlodl<'al which wiJI cover lhP entire trade
territory. A meeting was recently held by the business mer.
ot Moscow, the object of thll! meeting 'being to• tind some way
to cover the trade area adjacent to this city. 'rhc Review
will meet that neecl. This edition Is going to ov~r 5000 homes,
and that we believe Is a grentet· number thnn Is covered by
both other Moscow pap~r~~ combined. Con!leqnentlY the ad­''
ertlser with us will reC'eive a greater coverage than can be
obtained elsewhere, and be will not be compelled to pay double
for this coverage. Moecow can be made a wondet·ful trad»
center, for few cities In Northern Idaho h:n·c anywhere near
the attractions Moscow bas. The University Is n wonderful
drawing card. The rh:h farming area ndjaccnt to this city
Is practically unequl\lled tor the richness and a!><;uranC'e of it:;
crops, and the ownership of this paper will <to lls level best for
Moscow. It will boost ror Moscow. It will booat the business
men. It will boost the farmer. The owners or this paper
h!l\'C probably done mort' to put :\loscow on thC' map both na­tionally
and intt'rnatl'lnally than any other single lntere!lt bert:.
We !Ike Moscow and we want Mo~<c·ow to !Ike us.
And we believt' the people of ~lo~c-ow nn<l Lat oh County
~ppreciate this to the rull. Our monthly pay-roll here is
considerable, and otostly all local people are employed. Our
Post Office expenditures have heen su!Ciclent to kN~P ~IOSC'O'I\'
a first class Post Office,
We have e\'er be(.'n, nntl still are ready to donate freely
of our time and means to the interests of this community.
In Mr. Marineau we have succeeded In obtaining one of
the most progressive and competent newspaper men In Idaho.
He is recognised as such. In the State Senate many years.
Mayor of Elk River at the present time, County autl Road
Commissioner in additiOn to that, we know that the pol!cieo~
of this paper are In excellent hnnds. And we shall be
satisfied to leave them there. The owners of litis paper have
neither the time nor tllo Inclination to perf!onally edit or
supervise the papPr, nnll Mr. Marineau will have a full and
unhampered band In dlr<>cthtg its policies. Coming to Moscow
with the confidence nud respect of a host of people, under the
guidance of Mr. :'llnrlnenu, or "Blll'' as be h; commonly known,
we !'hall rest in assurance or a brilliant future for the paper.
We are here to fight no one. Our edllorlnl po11cy wlll be
peculiarly our own. \\'e ehall defend what we believe to be
right and shall (!enounce what we beUe\'t' to he wrontt. We
shall respect the opinions of others, at the same time having
opinions ourselves. In other words, while thb paper will
enter into no controversy with anyone, it will have a backbone
of its own, and will not hesitate to rearles.'!ly stand up tor th-e
rlght; nor will it hc!>ilale to ~tand up tor this community.
Moscow can have a wonderful future. 'l'he own!'Tship of this
paper has a campaign planned for this fall whereby Mo~cow
will probably be one of the best advertised. If lht> not the bes:.
advertised city in America. We ~hall ept'nd UOO.OOO doinu
this. With a united effort of the busine~s and agricultural
men, Moscow might easily be a city known for tt activitY
and business success throughout America.
~ow in conclusion, tb~ ownership wishes to personAlly thank
the business men of Moscow tor the amazing response in
advertising this first issue has received. We nrc not so much
Interested in your money as we nro in your good wlll, and if
this first issue isn't a demonstration ot goocl-wlll then we
have never seen one. We thank every one or you rt·nm tho
bottom of our benrts, and you can depend upon ll. thla advertis­Ing
will pay you many llmcH over. If yon hnvc news Items
you want pu bllshed, send ~It em in, and we will try to !nsert
them correctly. If you know of anything ym1 think will be a
benefit to our city-- let us know, we will fltand behind you,
for a prosperous. \lllltrd Moscow and I,atnh County.
syc tana nvttes ublic to
Inspect Its New Home
Nev.s-Review
March 9, 1934 March 12 to 17.
~~Psychiana" New
Philosophy of
Life.
"Psychlana" Is designed to en­able
men and women to go into
workill8' partnership with the
spiritual realm, thereby making
their Uvee happier, healthier, and
more successful. The teachings or
Dr. Robinson are based upon the
existence of a divine spiritual
power, which power Is the crea­tive
intelligence behind this uni­verse.
The movement started five
yeaT'6 ago and teaches a philoso­phy
of life which appears to be
logical, reasonable, and spiritual
In Its essence. This new philoso­PhY
did not spring Into existence
over night, It was the result of
many years of intensive thought
and research In the realm of reli­gious
philosophies. Dr. Robinson
teaches that a correct understand­Ing
of spiritual law Is all that is
necessary to t'llVe the human race
from Its ills, Its heartaches, Ita
discouragements and ita disap­pointments.
To him the existence
or the realm of God is the most
vital thing In the universe. Quite
naturally, "Psycblana," a new re­ligious
philosophy, is different. It
dlecards much of tradition and re­places
this with a vital Uving spir­itual
universe.
Expanded Rapidly.
At the beginning or. this move­ment
a very email office was
rented trom which to carry on the
Inalde of a few months,
quarters were made neces­by
the epread of the teaching.
Again larger quarters soon became
necessary, and two years ago a
quarter o! a block at the corner of
Third and Jackson streets in Mos­cow
was purchased and the .two­story
frame building on it wae oc­cupied.
The movement, however,
continued to grow, and at the
present time "Psycbiana" is occu­pying
its new home. The new
home adjoins the old frame build­Ing,
and bas about 4000 feet of
space.
Visitors Welcome.
During the week of March 12
to 17, "P.sychlana" Is commemo­rating
Ita fifth •birthday anniver-and
the opening of the new
home by cordially InViting the
public to visit them. Visiting
hours are from 9 a. m. to 12 noon,
DR. FRANK :B. ROBINSON Built With Local
Materials and
Labor.
The new home of "Psychlana"
Is a beautiful one-story brick
building facing Third street near
Jackson. The building Is the re­sult
of Moscow labor and local
products. Howard Baker. a Mos­cow
designer and bullder, bullt
the structure, using local materi­als
wherever possible. The brick
was furnished ·by the Moscow Fire
Brick company, a product made
In lloscow from local clay. The
lumber was furnished by Potlatch
Yards, Inc., and the Madison Lum­ber
and Mill company. The heat­Ing
and plumbing wae Installed
Frank B. Roblnl\On was born in by the C. M. W1lderman Heating
New York City 48 years ago. His adn Plumbing company, the elec­talher
was a Baptist minister and trlcal wiring by R. Oldenburg, the
moved with his fnmily to northern electrical fixtures by the Moscow
England several years later. In his Electrical company and the paint­teens
Frank left England for On- ing and paper hanging by the R.
tario,' Canada. Later. In Toronto, B. Ward Paint and Hardware
he put himself through a school or company. Samm's Furniture store
pharmacy and at 21 was a regis- furnished Dr. Robinson's private
tered pharmacist. While In Toron- office with a specially made El
to he attracted the attention or Dorado desk and chair to match,
Elmore Harrl&, preslclt>nt of Me- and a desk and chair for the sec­Master
university. Dr. Harris P.s-lr-----
slsted in a financial way, and retary. The floor ts .covered with
made It possible for RobinSOn to a beautiful Wilton rug from the
go through Mc)laster university same store. Creighton's furnished
and the Bible Training school. and hung the window t<bades and
He was ordained to the Baptist draJ)e6. R. J. Moore Cabinet shop
ministry and spent some time In made and installed the office fur­evangell~
tic work. Through the nlture and cabinets. Only local
acquaintance of Dr. William labor was used in the construction
James, famous psychologist of of the building. The Anderson
Harvard, Dr. Robinson was Sheet Metal works supplied the
prompted to study psychology. sheet metal work.
In 1919 he married Pearl Leav­Itt.
daughter of Circuit Judge
Lea.vltt. of Klamath county, Ore.
Dr. and Mr<B. Robinson have two
children, Alfred, 11, nnd Florence,
three.
New flome of
''PSYCH/ANA''
THE NEW HOME OF "PSYCRIANA" just completed and to
be opened to the public March 12 to 17. This building was
built by Afoscow labor by the firms and individuals whose best
wishes appear on this page. Moscow and local prOducta were
used wherever it was possible to do so. I! the material was
not available locally, some local firm benefitted trom an order.
The entire movement of "Psyehlana" and the bu11dlng of the
new home will continue to benefit Moscow and Moscow busi­ness
firms to the tune of many thousands of dollars each month.
DR. ROBINSON SENDS THANKS
FOR BUSINESS COOPERATION
Below is a letter rt>relved nl
the :Kews-Review from Dr. Frank
B. Robinson, expres!llng hi~ grati­tude
for the cooporatlou and
friendship of Moscow bnllinllel!:
".Mv dear Mr. ~1arlneau:
·'May I take this opportunity or
asking you to express to the mer­chants
of Moscow. through the
columns of the };'ew.s-ReYiew, my
heart-felt and deepest gratitude
and appreciation of the wonder­ful
friendly spirit sho\\n toward
me during the past wl!elt.
"\Vith very few exceptions,
everv business hOU!le In .MOS<.'OW
was· represented in your Special
Anniversary issue last week, and
I confess that such friendship nnd
cooperation w.as more than I had
expected. Kindly convey my per­sonal
thanks to the buslne... .~ men
or Moscow and elsewhere, who
made this special edition possible.
"I should like also to thank the
many firms who sent such a quan­tity
of beautiful flowers down to
us on our opening morning. I ap­preciate
all these friendly gestures
and wish to say to the!!e good
huslness men. so many of whom
have expressed theiT appreciation
and !riendship toward this move­ment
or mine, that I shall do
e\·erylhing I possibly can tot· th<-m
and for the city of Moscow. I wish
nlso to thank the Elks' lodge for
the beautiful flowers they sent.
"I have been approached more
than once by reprEf!entatlves of
other communities ro~rd!ng the
moving of "Psychiana" elsewhere.
but I have turned a dear ear to all
such suggestions and you may tell
the business men of Moscow for
me, that "Psychlana" will staY
right here, and we hope to con­tinue
to do our little part ln
bullding up a better and
Moscow.
"Most sincerely yours.
"FRANK B. ROBlNSO!'\.''
n,-1e rest in g rD ac l s ble, would cost the chamber of commerce hundreds ot thousands
A ~D h. , of dollars. bout ~ SYC lQnQ "Psych! ana" loosons are mailed
1 / to 74 countries scattered all over
News Re,.v-Ti"'e"'J]w~3J+S 34 the world.
There are many Interesting The thousands of dollars spent
facts about "Psychlana" that few here each month and yeaT by Dr.
people realize are possible to be Robinson and "Psychlana" come
true in such a small community as to Moscow from outside. E\"eryone
1\Ioscow. The amount or work in- In the community benefits either
voh·ed, the tremendous amount of directly or tndlreotly from the
supplies used every day, the large spending of this money.
amount of mail prepared each daY Since the first of thi!l year over
and the equipment necessary to 1,000,000 envelopes have been or­make
this possible. dered and at the present time
An extrem~ly interesting fact there le an order for 1,000,000
for th~se who are Interested !n more.
spreadmg the news about Moscow The Elliott addressing machine
to the world is that "Psych1ana" Is the latest addition to "P.syohi­advertising
carries the name and ana" equlpmont. It Is capable o!
fine points of our community
every country In the world In addressing about 3500 evnelopes
many different languages. or letters an hour. Stencils for the
the name of Moscow, Idaho, machin ar ordered by Lhe quarter
so many people. even 1 mllllon.
Cnlted If such
Dr. Robimso~ and hi!:. new $16,000 car
It'll tl fast-growing city, t~ Mv:- w1th chromium steel whef'll!. It moro, would Mit for fin<>r ci·afts­cow,
hlaho. and folltH thr·l't' urc lhaa n spl'cd of J2fl ntlll•ll pl'r hour man11hlp, would put their dollars
t·oUing on tho highway of Industry,
tool<lng fl'w It to lw "HOJtH' ptmldrul'' nnd i11 <'qnipprd wltll " Rtlpor- bulllncHfl woultl gl't hl't.t,..1• 1111c1 morr
a~ limo gol'l~ 011. Nnw 11 '{ '"'"ling <'hurgcr. lt nul.IH'l' I 0 mllf·M t.o the men woulct 1~<'1 jobll Hlld f"VI'II'ybody
cltlZI'll, nr. l<'nmk R Hnhhllmn, ~a11on of gaH. tt 111 <>ullrrly IHIIHI woulrl lw }UIPJIY· ll's ('l'aflsman­glvNI
It lhl' dli!Unl'\ion of hc-lng !ht mull" E'VCtJ to thA l'llOlC'II'. 1l lA tho 11hip p~l(l !Ol' with honi'Rl dollars
town th11l lws the f»Ht••st. moHt only orv' of lt.'l l~·po in I hi' rntJro I that. mHkcA gond tlml'll."
pnw~'•·rul mvl mo11t I'X(H'mHvn r•ar unrthwe11t. Dr. Hoblnann tuvl hiR ~laff 1'1"
In the r?ntir,., northwe.:t "It may l!CPm llkt~ c., tJ·avnJ:nnc" I'P.ntly moved Into •• U""' hrlck n··· Robllll!"ll h:tS JURI ;v•r•ppfcd to rurrha~" 1'11<'h a. {JUO Clll'," !;Old building. fo;lght ntw: pcopl" werl'
d~IIVPQ· nt 11. n(w Dc••senhcl J1 cnn- Pt . Rnbin~on ttJday. "But I don't taiH•n on. mokln~ u. total now of
\'N'llble coupe. Thl' cnr C<lSt $16,000. bchevc it. 11>. The trouble with U1i11 43 employees. l:'i of which were
It was orcterf'd by D•·· Robin~;on country now is that there have taken from the Northwe11tem Busl­la.
st apt1ng. It l.'t powercl1 with n ~en too many money-snvcra. llf'~'l college In Spokane. Recordi!
320·h(lrllcpower moto•· and is o! "We have hat! .!IO much chiseling from the posto!ficc at Moscow
the regular racing type <'Xccpt Cor of p1ice and quality thut the de· show an Increase o! 43 per cent,
body. pres:;ion ha:; been, In part, a 1·e- much of which IR due to the ex-
The car Is finll!hrn In jrl blnck suit. If peopl<> who COULD spend tenRive bUJ•Iness of Dr. Robinson.
Ma r-e-h f-4,--1 934
A .$16,000 DUC$<mberg ~traight f'ighL,
roadster-said to bf' thr
priced car purchased by an
Inland Empire re.osldenL ln recent year11
-will !tad the "parade of .stunts" ~ot
8!1\·cr Fcstlval, Style And Auto
Thur~day eveniu11. Later ln the
evening lt. w111 bt displayed w lth oth·
er 1934 model car~ in the AUto :o.how
Spraeue Avenue.
Mayor Leonard Funk Rnd Harry T.
Levln~n. aentral chairman of the
Silver te.osllval, wUI ride Jn ~tyiP In tht
oversized car a~ the head of the line
march.
The car wa& retelved today b~· the
Roy E. Hotcbkl~~ company tor dcth·­ery
to Dr. Frank B. Robinson of Mo.~­cow,
Idaho. It wlll be on dlsplav Cor
a few days at the company'.s show­rooms
at Second and Madison.
"Due.senlltra cars are bullt to
buyer's order." <;aid Mr.
"The list price on the cha$i.<;,
bas a 153 ~2 -Inch wheelbase, Is
The body or each car Is
pecially to suit the buyer's
''From a atandintr :~tart, the ca
attain n speed C>f 100 miles an
In 60 3econd~t. It holds a speed
ord of 156 mlle.~ nn hour. The
lubrication Is entirely automatic.
Due.senberg WM the first Am<>rican
car with four-wheel brakes, and wM
the fir~~ 11tralght eight.."
April 26,
AHO'S PROPHET OF NEW GOSPEL
GOES FAR IN BRIEF FIVE YEARS
l~'s a world or ast1·ononucal [ig­urcs,
of thouliands and hund1·eds o[
thous:~.ndtr, which Frank J. Rob!n­tiOJl,
founder and proprietor o!
Pt;ychlnna, Inhabits. His auto­mobiles
tra,·el t" o miles a. minute;
his plve Ol'f:1ltl 111 one of the !!nest
In th~ world; his tra \'Cis arc in
thou!'llnd!l or miles: his readers and
hill disciples have by their maU
mudn Moscow a flr::.l class post-otclcc.
'l'hls twophcl or a new gospel­tho
goiiJlOI or tho will to power­lltOJ)
llcd ott In Bolso Tuesday night
und Wodncaday morning on a fly­Ing
trip, bringing with him an at­traction
whlcl1 pl'ovcd moro potent
to cu1·1ous Uolsenns than the phy­lllcn.
l presence ot the master-- a
$1G,OOO Duesenbcrg custom-built
Lports roadster.
Tho fabulous automobile has a.
tOJ> ~;peed of 130 miles an hour
<tllourh Dr. Robinson says he's
netler driven It more than 115.)
lt. "Ill go !rom a standing start to
100 mlle11 an hour Jn 20 seconds.
Jt hils every conceivable device for
comfort. safety and drlvlns con­venience
built In-Including a. huge
t~lren tf) warn the !olks (ar ahead
thal the Due•enber.: Is comins. For
the latter he has a pecial permit
!rom Governor Ross.
}'lve years 11£:0 Or. Robinson­Ph.
u.. not doctor oC medicine­was
ett·ugghn~: drug clerk with
~;cant income and no prospects. He
was, howe\'or, a !lrm believer In
tho doctrine that what any man
wanted h1u·d enough he could get.
1t required, lle felt, only moral
couragc:-. 1'1<> thcro!oro resigned his
job, pcrCected his phlloaophy,
wlih t.ho flnanc1111 backing of a
am1111 gt·otlp or Mo11cow men put
his !den. on tho market.
..-orld. He bas the rntmnerlsms of
the sueeeS>'ful super-!'&lesman: tho
easy. una!fected bearing oC tho In·
dh'idual at home In any company;
and lh& not surprlsina; wonder and
pride In his on·n achievements
which, far !rom being orrensh·e,
seems the natural concomitant of
All 11. rc11ult his system, he says,
11 .w !11 sold In 07 countl'ies. His
monthly postal bill at Moscow Is
$6000, or UOO a day. He speaks
to clubs, to lodges, to luncheon
grouptr, all over the countrY.
•·aut I never make an add~ess ex­cept
on rt'que!<l," he eonrlded. "I
nm not running a. traveling medi­cine
show-free lecture and sale of
r~medles. I bellevo my system has
what ls nt>eded lO revive a spiritual­ly
dead world, and on that faith I
have proceeded. And I have a
~oa l-to make my philosophy the
means of help to everyone in the
world who Is willing to try it."
Dr. Robinson Is of medium
hel,ht, sturdily built, with a
:smooth, unwrinkled face, deep-set
bluo nyes, n pleaeant smile and an
nll8ured voice. He confesses to 50
year11; nnd looks 40. His conversa­tion
Ia not. that of the evangelist or
IMpirt>d prophet but the enter­taining,
~;u.lty talk ot a. man of the
k-B~R~blnson,
{Idaho) psychologist and
founder of Psycblana, who l\IU
pre~nt the first of a series of pipe
organ recitals Sunda~· night from
8 :SO until 9 o,·er radio ~tat! on
I\ GA. Or. Robinson himself "ill
be at the con.;ole.
Old .. acred melodies will be fcn­tured
e' clush·et.r on the program.'\,
'' hlch will be continued through
thc ''Inter ou KGA at the "a me
hour each Sunday.
[daho Writer Declares Dic­tator
Ruination of
Nation
H~· .\. C. liOLLOWA k'
Seized at one stage ot his jour­ney
by Itllhan :ooldacrs. spaed upon
by Premaer Mussollni's polic<!
agent& and most of au opposed to
rule ampollcd by rifle and sword,
Dr. Frank B. Robinson. noted
Idallo p$ychologist, stopped in
Portland Monday alter a 10 weeks'
tour ot Europe and the nations of
the Neaa· Jo~ast
Dr. Robinson was h1 Berlin the
night Premier Dolfuss of Austria
was assassinated. He conversed
bri<'fly with the Prince ot Wales,
loured Russia by plane and tried
to get out o! Egypt with some
souvenirs from tbe mummified
relics In the Egyptian pyramids.
"I am more firmly convinced
than ever that the system ot ab­solute
dictatorship that is sweep·
ing Europe will be the ruination
of any r.ountry that h~UJ it," Dr.
Robinson declares. ''For there
can't be dictatorship without c.he
rifle and the sword.
"In Germany all the sentiment
Is professedly Hitler. But the peo­ple
there don't dare support any­one
else.
"It's the same thang in ltalv.
People will tell you what great
work Mussolini as accomplishing,
the fine highways he is building.
the hydro-electric developments he
ha~~ made poM!ible.
"But everywhere you turn In
that country thel'e re soldiers
with bayonets and rifles.
'!They don't know what freedom
At the railway stations,
docks and along the streets
11.re ~oldiel'l! to watch your
Dr. Frank B. Robinson ~:reett'd
b~· his soo Alfred, 11, after tour
of Europe and near e1111t.
every action and police agentll In
plain clothes to spy upon you.
Fear rules the nation and a pov-we
prevails among the lower classes
in these dictator-dominated na­Uon!
l.
"Al one of the Italian ports J
was waiting to get on a boat to
cross the Mediterrtlllean. There
were guards armed with rifles and
bayonets at the bottom of the
gangplank and at the top.
"Some man approached
started a. colloquy with one group
ot guards After much gestlculat·
ing and argument they finally let
him pa.'ll!.
"He walked up the gangplank.
At the top be was accosted again.
This time the words exchanged
were brief. A guard floored him
with one wicked punch, jerked a
dagger fl'om hl11 belt and stood over
him ready to stab him lf the man
showed any more resistance.
Had No Pass
"! a~~ked an Itallan here wbat It
was all about. The man who tried
to gtt by th.e guards was one of the
own!'rs ot the boat. He wanted to
a board for a. conference with the
captain. Hla only otfense was that
be ha.d neglected to get a govern­ment
pa!IS."
On board this same boat Dr. Rob­Inson
.11truck up an acquaintance
with the only Italian who could
speak English. Their talk veered
to }fus&ohni. The Italian described
in glowing terms all the accom­plishments
of the dictator.
"Yea. But what have you got
with all that Z When all is said and
done, you are worse ott than the
slaves ever were in America.'' Dr.
Robinson indvertently blurted out.
His companion deserted him and
at the next Port Dr. Robinson wa.s
seized by a corps of Italian police
for questioning. Only a dii:•loJna:uc
passpot·t in his possession spared
him !urlher embanassm~nt. HiB
companion, It turned out, was a se­cret
police agent of the Italian
At another Italian village, Dr.
Robinson pulled out bls camera and
started shooting a picture or what
he thought was monastery on a bill
.several mlle!l di.11tant.
Soldiers leaped upon him and
took him In custody. After an ap­peal
to American authorities, he
was released. The monRIItery he
thought be wa.q photographing WM
an Italian artillery camp on o. high
promontory.
"I tried to explain to them tbat
there was no hope ot my discover­ing
any ot their military secrets
from a photograph taken at such
(!!stance. But my arguments were
futile.''
Dr. Robinson returned to the
United States with the observa­tion
that he would "rnther be on
the charily lists in this country
than ln any ot the natlonR of Eu­rope,
except Great Britain, on a
pension of $100 a day.
Great Britain, he aays, Is on Its
feet financially and appears to be
prosperoua. He said he 3&W no
signs of unemployment In that
co am try.
Dr. Robinson !JI the founder o!
Ps}-chiana, P!I)'Cbo-rellgioul! school
ot Moscow, Idaho. His inltituUon
wu foundP.d alx years ago and
now has 400,000 students In 74
countries ot the world.
"My fir11t advert!Mment In Tbe
Portland News brought me replies
from 3 per cent of the newspaper's
paid circulation, a record never be­tore
equalled In newspaper an­nal!!."
The Newa-Telegram ls the only
newspaper advl'l'tlslng medlu
used In Portland by the
chologist. He Is the author
seven books, written within
last four yeat'll, and Is now publteb­ing
an autoblogt·aphy in his own
publishing plant at Moscow, Idaho.
He Is a. life member ot the
American Society for Psychical
Research and a member of the
sociatlon for tbe Advancement
Science. He 1a also a. member ot
the national democratic commit­tee's
advisory council.
Dr. Robin110n waa the principal
financial backer of Mayor WUlls
Maboney of Klamath Falla who
opposed Gen. Marlin In tho guber-
Tall(s on
Psychology
Popular _
Psychology "Falks by Dr. Frank
B. Robinson Are Being Re­leased
Over Many Stations
"Phychia na."
The radio audience In ~11 ~C'c­tions
of the West is hearing
about it more and more.
It is a coined word created by
Dr. Frank B. Robinson. Ph.D.,
D.D., M.S. C., w or 1 d traveler,
author and lecturer, whose psy­chology
talks have been r!'cordt•d
by MacGregor and Sollie studios
In San Francisco and are being
rei~ on dozens of radio sta­tions.
Phyehiana is the philosophy
and viewpoint on life that Dr.
Robinson has evolved. For many
years he spread this philosophy
to the people via the newspaper
and magazines. And now he has
adopted man's latest means or
dissemination - the radio - to
bring his m<'ssage to the puhlit'.
BOOJ{S 0~ SUB·JEC'f.
Dr. Robinson has wl'itlt'n n
number of books which conlllin
startling revelations in the psy­cological
field. Il wa!i, thl' trl'·
mendous demand for these anti
fo1· his magazine and nl'wspapN'
articles that prompted him to
test out the radio.
Last fall he came to Mac­Gregor
and Sollie Studios and
made a small series of electrical
transcriptions in which he ex­pounded
his beliefs and aug­mented
his talking with occa­sional
dramatizations and some
music. He placed them on a
group of stations in different
sections of th<.' west. They were
an instant success. And so he
returned recentlv to make an ex­tensive
series o·f the same type
of program.
Inasmuch as Dr. Robinson
hails from Moscow, Idaho, hi~
radio v en t urI' naturally has
brought recognition and fame to
th<> town almost ovl'r night.
The father of "psychlana" I~
an accomplished musician and
has a large pipe organ In his
study at home.
In addition he owns his own
newspaper at Moscow, a complctr
printing plant, bindery, photo
engraving department and clec­u
·otype establishment.
He is a member or the Ameri­can
Association for the Advance­ment
of Science and a fellow or
the American Society for Psychi­cal
Research.
S'fAR1'f.:D AS " .. '~~.-u.
Besides the newspapers and
magazines throughout America
t hat usc Dr. Robinson's articles,
every newspaper in Great Britain
I$ now t·unning his material.
Dr. Robinson is recognized as
one of the world's best posted
and most brilliant psychologists.
rn his series of radio programs
which were electrically tran­scribed
by the San
studios of MacGregor and
Dr. Robinson engaged the serv­ices
of one of the foremost pro­ducers
in radio today to direct his
productions. That man was John
Eugene Hasty. Dr. Robinson~s
magnetic personality, plus hJS
abilitv to be entertaining on any
subj~t so many know so little
about, has resulted in his radio
prognms being extremely inter­esting
and engaging.
Dr. Robinson was educated at
the University of Toronto, Can­a
da. He started his career as a
drug clerk in a small pharmacy
In Moscow, Ida.h,o.
]()J~AS WON FAME.
He was an intellectual type
and drug clerking didn't fit him
at all. He read and studied at
every spare moment. he,
evolved on the idea of
chlana." Soon his writings
being printed in the
Later the magazines
for them. His brilliant outlooK
on life and intelligent so:lut1or~:
of many of life's problems which:
he unfolded in rare literary style
Jn those periodicals achieved Cor.
him a rapidly growing audience
and fame.
Radio is now adding to that
fame.
Dr. Robinson's Psychiana pro­gram
is only one of scores of
.features being tumed out by tho
MacGregor and Sollie Studios for
stations throughout the
R.nd for its own affiliated
in the United States.
The western stations as:soc:ia1led
with t his MacGregor and
Broadcasting System chain
elude:
JUEM, Eureka, Calif.;
E ugen<>, Ore.; KTFI, Twin
Idaho; KLZ, Denver, Colo.;
Klamath Falls, Ore.;
per, Wyoming; KGDM, st,ocltton.
Calif.; KID, Idaho Falls,
Pueblo, Colo.
NEW BUILDING
PLANS MADE
News Revi.&1;.. ~ 31, 1935
\York \Vill Start on
Ne\v Structure in
£\ear Future.
A new Lwo-story brick build­in~!.
modern in C'\'CQ' re~pcct. wi 1
under construction on the cor­ncr
of Third and Jackson JUSt , <
soon as the pre::;cnt wooden struc­lure
is removed. Dr. Frank n.
Robinson stated Wednesday.
The building will be known .-s
the Robinson Professional build­ing.
The lower floor \\'ill have t\\O
large suites ::mel the
suite.
floor will consist o! scv<.·n
rooms and one five roof11
All space has been lcns<.'d for a
period of 5 years with the option
or the lessee to lease for an ad­clitiortal
5 years. A studio tot· tin-'
News-ReYiew broadcasting sta­tion
will be on the first !loot· <mel
lransmitter equipment will be stu­Honed
outside the city lilmts. '!'he
go\'ernmcnt now requires th: t
lquipment be a certain distamc
!l·om the center of town.
The building will be modern ;n
every 1·espect "ith white enamel
walls. X-Ray rooms. law library
and other modern con\'Cllicnces
Jound in a professional building.
The signed leases !or occupam·y
of the offices nrc in the hand
oC Dr. Robinson and he is anxiouc:
to get construction under way.
PDOJ:""I;:~~ION.f\Lw OUILDING"
The abO\'t' is on accurate artists' drawing of the new Professional
Building now bemg crected by D1·. Robinson on the corner of Third
and Jackson stret.>ts. The build in.., will be occupied exclush dy by
professional men. and will be of most modern construction.
Special brick art.> being made and imported, and the color :.;chemc
of the buildmg ts tan. An up-to-date hot watc1· hcatin~ system
with automatic control in every suite will be installed, enabling the
tenants to set the temperature in their own quarters regardless o£
the temperature in the adjoining suites.
No accommodations are a\·ailable in this building as all :;paec
has lx·cn lea~ed for long terms. Il w1ll be completed early in
December.
JURY
INDICTS
DR. ROBINSON
Charge of Making
False Statement
Preferred by U.S.
News-Reviev1 February 13, 1.-36
Charged with making· a fah;e statement
in an application for a passport, Dr. Frank
B. Robinson of Moscow was indicted by the
federal grand jury now in session in Boise.
The passport was obtained by Dr. Robin­son
before making a trip to Europe in 1934.
Dr. Robinson declined to comment, except
to say that the indictment was not entirely
unexpected and that any statements would
be made "at the proper time."
Bond was set at $1250 which was posted
by two Moscow business men.
The hearing will be held in Moscow before
ederal Judge Charles C. Cavanah during
the May term of court.
address was scheduled to begin, and the police were called
to dispell the crowds which insisted upon gaining admis­sion.
This has been duplicated everywhere I have ever been
and as I see this marvelous reaction, it impresses me with
a sacred sense of my duty, for truly the responsibility is
very heavy. Yet, I feel the vision is true and wl1erever a
true vision exists, you may depend upon it that it exists in
the mind of someone perfectly qualified to bring the vision
out of the Realm of God and into the Realm of r eality.
Quite natura1ly, orthodox religious organizations heap
curses upon my head, for they cannot conceive of anyone
having any of the truths of God who teaches an entirely
different philosophy from the one they teach and I am
sorry to say that many very dirty attempts have been made
by ministers who profess to know God, and I am also
happy to say that these attempts to upset this Movement
have never been and never will be successful.
PEOPLE today want the truth of God if that truth can
be known. They are sick and tired of heathen and
pagan tradition foisted off on an unsuspecting public by
preachers and priests as the truths of God. Considerable
consternati<>n has been aroused by one of my books,
Crucified Gods Galore, which book is having a very wonder­ful
sale as, in fact, are the rest of the books.
Our Magazine circulation jumps up on an average of ten
new subscriptions every day and I imagine, off hand, that
if we include regularly enrolled students, magazine sub·
scribers, Brotherhood members and those who have bought
our books, the total will be pretty close to the half million
mark.
This has been a lonesome fight and still will be. It has
been a hard fight, for just as soon as my program's break
on the radio, the different ministerial associations who are
very much afraid of me and this teaching, imm.ediately
put in a protest, and some station operators seem to have
the mistaken idea that those who believe in the story given
to us by orthodox theology constitute the majority of the
people. However, they are badly mistaken and our attor-neys
are now laying the ground work to go into the federal
courts and decide whether any radio station has the right
to permit one religious philosophy on the air and forbid
another one. I do not believe that any radio station is
qual ified to pass upon the merits of any religious teaching.
Of course, this doesn't upset me too much, because I know
the mind and pulse of thinking Americans today and I
know that old pagan beliefs and superstitions are not satis­fying
these thinking people today and they are discarding
them just as fast as they possibly can.
This world had better get a new vision of God and the
church had better present one, for if ever it was needed, it
is needed today. However, in spite of all opposition and
in spite of my plain speaking and writing, we continue to
grow and the answer to our success may be found in the
fact that the new vision of God we· are giving to the world
is a vision that has long been needed, and a vision which
can actually he proven to be true. We do not profess to
know all of the truths of God, by any ~er of means,
but we do try to be true to the vision we have received and
we use ourselves as a channel through which the inspira­tions
of the Realm of God as we receive them can be
humbly and simply transmitted to others.
I DO not like to talk about myself. The only thing I will
say is that I derive much relaxation and pleasure from
a beautiful pipe 01·gan in my home, and as the days get
busier and busier, I spend more and more time in relaxa­tion
at the console of this beautiful instrument.
I notice that your magazine is called [11.$piration, and if
I were asked for a message to your readers, I would say to
them that all inspiration comes from the greatest Realm
of the Spirit of God, and if the inspiration be f ollowed, no
matter what form it takes, your readers.may be sure that
such inspiration will sooner or later lead them to the real­ization
of their oneness with the spirit of eternal life, and
knowing this Spirit and knowing its power, your readers
will find that the rest of life's problems will answer them­selves.
DR. F.wi. itoiiNsoN TO SEND
POSTCARD HE RECEIVED HERE FROM BRUNO
• NEW YORK, Jan. 10. (UP) A sample of Bruno Richard
Hauptmann's handwriting is being rushed by airmail from Moscow,
Idaho, to be placed before the New Jersey court of pardons which
begins consideration of the convicted Lindbergh kidnapper's at
Trenton tomorrow.
Dr. Frank B. Robinson, of Moscow, told the United Press he
wired Governor Harold G. Hoffman from his hotel here today
that he had a post card which Hauptmann had written since his
conviction last spring.
A secretary of the governor telephoned Robinson that the gov­ernor
was exceedingly anxious to obtain samples of Hauptmann's
handwriting written in ordinary correspondence and asked if the
card could be produced by Wednesday. Robinson assured that i
could be in the governor's hands Monday and wired to Moscow
for it to be sent immediately.
Robinson, founder of a new teaching called "Psychiana," said
Hauptmann wrote him from the Flemjngton, N. J., jail about a
month after his conviction concerning the new philosophy. He sen
Hauptmann the full course of the teaching.
"I don't know whether the card
will help Hauptmann or hinder
him," Robinson said. "I have it
and if Governor Hoffman and the
court of pardons want to look at
them to compare the handwriting
with evidence already submitted,
I'm glad to furnish it."
Governor Harold G. Hoffman of
New Jersey has asked Dr. Frank B.
Robinson of 1\loscow for the post
card which Bruno Richard Haupt­mann,
convicted s\l:yer of tht>
Lindbergh baby, purportedly sent
to J\loscow while in the Fleming­ton
jaU.
The handwriting on the post
card will be shown the board of
pardons when U meets to give
final consideratlan to ~he Ger­man's
fate.
The post card ~ssertedly was
written bY Hauptmami while he
was in jail. It sa:vs: "Dr. please send
me the of God. Obriciat
Jan. 10-With no
this wee~ the high school
ball boy/ are looking for­to
two conference games next
when they go to Culdesac and
Lapwai here.
ey go to Culdesac on January
while the home game witb
is set for ,January 17. This
a doubleheader the girl£
Unusually mild weather is enabling soil conservation engineers
and CCC members to make rapid progress on the project. three and
one-hall miles Irom Moscow, where a dam is being built and a lake
created.
The project aims at the double objective of conserving the water
resources of the district and creating a site for a proposed recreation­al
center.
Building or the project was made possible by Dr. Frank B. Robin­son
who bought approximately 60 acres of land from the Federal
Land bank oi Spokane to donate to Latah county and meet require­ments
of the soil conservation bureau, which insisted the land be
publicly owned and controlled.
In appreciation, Latah county commissioners named the place
Robinson Park.
"Woodman, .spare that tree!" upper lt!ft shows D1-. Frank B. Robin­son
initiating the job by starting to feU the first tree near where the
dam IS to be built.
Upper 1·igbt: the land which will be flooded when the dam is built
and a 12-acre lake created. The spot is ideal for a recreation centc1·
with considerable surrounding timber. Lower l<'ft: the engineering
force of the soli conservation bureau-reading left to right-Jay W.
Thaanum, project manager, J. A. Krabbe, engineer in charge of con­struction,
K. Kohler, chief engineer or all soil conservation projects
In the northwest, R. L. Grant, Pullman camp engineer, John P.
Thomson, assistant research engineer.
Lower right: the CCC boys from Moscow and Pullman who are
building the dam and clearing ground for the lnke. G. B. Banks of
.is work foreman.
Sunday Schoo l Time s---December
NoTEs oN OPEN LETTERS
What Does Psychiana Teach?
H .. :in" received the encloo ed snail from
Moscow. Idaho, and after looking it over
and rending it, 1 felt that if Tm Su:-;o.w
SCHOOl. Tl\IES would gsve its jud11mcnt on
such tcachin~t it could reach thousands
where I could reach none or very few. We
take and enJOY the TutF.s ,·ery much and
appreciate its sound teaching. Surely we
are living in the last days. Yours foa· the
pure Word,-A Ka.ssas reader.
The literature enclosed with the Kansas
reader's letter describes Psychi:tna, and is
from Dr. Frank n. Robinson, Founder,
Moscow, Idaho. It is handsomely and im­prtssivdy
printed, and it include,, among
many other statements, the following:
The teaching which is bringing new life
to a spiritually dead world.
Read every word or this lecture. You
&land at the parting or the ways.
Of course- this revolutionary teaching
• is entirely opposed to the tc::aclungs or (,<Jd
!l'iven to us by ''orthodox)•." Tho'e teach­mgs,
however, a Her :::,ooo years of trial
have left the world in a worse mc..s than
tbey founcl it in.
Thi~ teaching shows the gre:tt creative
God·Re:1lm as it actually exi~t.«- full of
power- full of plenty- full uf supply for
you. And tbis grc::~t Power-Realm is abun­dantly
able and willing to supply all your
material as \\dJ as spiritual needs, here
ancl now- believe it or not.
A sheet headc.."<< "The Depression" has
the following sentences :
Tbi• world has c:omc to a stopping place.
It's come to a turning around voint, and
for the first time in the history of the
bumt~n r;acc men and women nrc beginning
to think for themselves.
In the religious realm it has been the
custom to allow some preacher or priest or
some other kind of a "heavenly pilot" to do
our religious tbinking for us an1l to pay
them for doing it. But no more. Men
and \\omen have weighed carefully iu the
balances what these "heavculy pilots" ha\e
to offer and have decided that their offer­ings
are not of God.
A printed Jetter sent to those who have
written for information and have received
a fir:.t reply accompanies a lectun:, or which
the letter says:
You may confidently e:(pect to read some
of the mo~t startling revelations gsvc:n to
m:111kind su1cc the beginning of time ....
After you have read Or. Rubinson's amaz­ing
lecture, you will begin to get a faint
glimpse of the tnath "hich Psychiana un·
folds. You will begin to have: :<Omc con·
ception of "'bat it '"mid me.'ln to you and
your lovrd on~.,; to know that the Ia~ which
Jesu~ knew and uJ;ed to "heal the ssck, cast
out de:\ tk raise the (ieacl" during his earthly
ministry IS tOday available to all mankind.
In ord r { be entirely fair to Psychiana,
the Editor oi Tub Su:-.nAv Scnoor Tl~tF.S
wrote to Dr. Rubinson, as follows·
Some of our readers h:we written us
about P~ychiana, ;~nd I Hhould appreciate
some infornuttion as to your poNition.
Do you believe and tench that ":all have
sinned, .and come short of the glory of God,"
ami th;at "the wages of sin i~ dcnth," both
the first or bodily death, and the
death or lake of fire? Also that lost
ners- which mean~ all mankind­saved
only becau'c Chri•t took the
place and p.'lid the dc::~th-penalty
sins and wa~ then raised bodily from
dead on tlae third day; and that sinners
saved only by believing in his sacrifice
their behalf :and the redeeming and
ing power of his shed blood?
This, :1s you know, is the plain teaching
of tbe New Testament and o£ evangelical
Christianity.
I should appreciate n word from
ting me know your position as to
foundations of the faith.
Dr. Robinson's reply has the merit
straightforward definiteness, which not all
unscriptural teachers have. He wrote:
In respon~e to your letter dated
asking \\ hethcr I belie' e that "all
sinned and ha\c come short of the glory
God" and the re~t of that letter, let me AAY
that I tru't that I have enough thinking
intelligence and rc:a!IQninss ability not to be·
lieve any such pagan vhslosopby as that.
There was a time in childhood when :ouch
soul-damning and life-blighting doctrines
were tauA'ht to me. but thank heaven, I
was fortunate enough to di~cnver their fals·
ity some years ago, and I :~ssure you that
they were utterlv dil'earded at that time.
I am also glad to notsce that the>e fanatic:ll
and pagan teaching~ arc being discarded by
tens and hundreds of thousan.l~. many of
whom hold rncmbcr~hip in so-called Chri~­tian
cburche".
Such superstitions as these may have
been all right in a pagiln and superstitious
age which originated them, but they
no place in the heart~ and live"' of thin
Americans today, and 1 am h:aPI•Y to in­form
you, in r<·ply to your letter, that they
have no pl:ace in my life nor in the lives
of my hundreds of thousand!! of followers.
I trust that this giv<:s you my st:~~~cling
very clearly and I ~hall be lo:appy to have
you pass thil! information on to <of
your reader~ who have written you
my t~aching.
Thus it is evident that Psychiana is
complete rejection of God, Chri~t. and
Bible. But it is not a new rejt-ction, not
a new discovery or "revelation" or any sort,
To be sure, it makes characteristically
modest claims to be new. "These gn:;H
dynamic truths of God, whkh I am giving
to the world for the first time," says l>r.
Robinson, "were found by me." Again,
"A new and staggermg idea of Truth is
being given to the world through Psy­chiana,"
which offers "some of the most
startling revelations given to mankind since
the beginning of time." Yet it contain~
nothing whatsoever tltat is new but is
merely another of the old, old echoc:.s of
the ancient lie with which Satan deceived
Eve in the Garden of Eden: "Yc shall he
as gods" (Gen. 3: s). The same fat-e
philosophy has been popular through th<·
ages and finds exprcs~ion today in many
false cults, such as Christian Science, New
Thought, Unity, and the like. All thc~l.'.
with Psychiaoa, deny the reality and the
dcat.h-wages of sin, the unique deity of
Chnst, all men's need of a Saviour the
subs_tit~tion:'-ry blood atonement mad~ by
Chrsst m. Ius death. on the cross, his bodily
resurrection, and hss coming again to j udgc
and reign over this world. The apostle
Peter looks back through the ages or his­tory,
and forward to the present century
a!t~ th~ es~d ~f Ute .~gc, as he writes by
dtvmc mspsration: But there were false
prophets also among the people, even as
there shall be false teachers among you
who privily shall bring in damnable her~
esics, even denying the Lord that bought
them, and bring upon themselves swift de­struction"
(2 Pet. 2: I). \V e arc not to
be. surprised that such false teach('rs may
~atn a large following, for Peter continues:
And many shall follow their pernicious
ways i by reason of who111 the way of truth
shall be evil spoken of. And through cov­etousness
shall they with feigned words
make merchandise of you : whose judgment
now of a long time lingercth not and their
damnation [destruction] slumber~ tit not."
II c 'VOmited hellfire.
ey, who sent Robinson his photogr<lph.
night Drug Clerk Robinson dreamed
saw Birley making mystic motions over
thought he heard him saying:
is is Psychiana, the p&wer that will
new life to a spiritually dead world."
day the drug clerk wrote the cotton
: "You are to be associated with me
this business. Please send $4o,ooo."
Fortnight Inter, a bank in Spokane, \\'ash.
informed Robinson that $2o,ooo hat! been
deposited to his account, that :\lr. Birley
promised $~o.ooo more the following week.
As Frank Robinson, now 52, is frank to
admit, such a story •·makes me sound
nuts.'' ~cverthcless he tells it to explain
the founding of Psychinna, n non-Christian
(but godly). mail-order religion which has
enrolled between ,;oo.ooo and 6oo.ooo
people in 6i countries, and which is prob­ably
the only faith in the world which
guarantees •·money back if you arc not
satbfied." .\s a mail-order gospel, propa­gated
by advertising (in .;oo newspaper~.
so magazines), Psychiann passed a mile­stone
last week when Founder Robinson
motored from :Moscow to Portland, Ore.,
placed an order for s.ooo,ooo envelopes­a
year's supply-and announced a new
policy which will make Psychiana more
like a church. Half a million lettrrs will
shortly go out Lo Psychiana students
throughout the world informing them how
to organize study groups (resembling re­ligious
congregations) in their cities.
\\'here Frank Bruce Robinson was born
he does not know. He used to think it was
Xew York, where he was brought up, and
whence he ran away at q, \\hen his Brit­ish
father m:trried a second wife. ~ext he
became a licensed pharmacist in Belleville.
Ont., beat the bass drum in the local Salva­tion
Army. The president of ~lc.~Ja~ter
university in Hamilton, Ont., helped him
through that institution and its Bible
Training School. Ordained a Baptist min­ister
in Toronto, Robinson received a D.D.
and doctorate in psychology from the Col­lege
of Divine ;\letaphyliics in Indianap­olis.
Beyond teaching Sunday school and
helping at evangelistic meetings while earn­ing
his lidng as a druggist. "Doc" Robin-son
(as his friends now call him) never
preached. soon came to disbelieve Chris­tian
doctrine. Said he: ··~Jy parents
pumped hellfire and damnation into me
until I was sick. I ju~t vomited it up.''
He declares today th:1l Heaven can be
reached ''here and now." that Psychiana.
is "God in operation." That this God­force
can be utilized by people lh·in~:
moral li\·es is Doc Robinson's chief cur­rent
thesis. and he has xo.ooo letters in
his files from people who believe they
ha\'e drawn upon Psychinna 's "mighty,
ne\·er-failinst power" lo cure everything
from lo\·esickness to bleeding piles.
11Ioscow, sent of the university of
Idaho, population s.ooo, was a second­class
post-office town when Doc Robinson
settled there. Il bas jumped to first class,
Psychiana hn,·ing sent out more & more
mail-$I..t.S52.63 worth last year. A be­ginners'
Psychiana course of 20 lessons
costs $zo, includes an examination and the
right to ask Doc Robinson for personal
ad\;ce. (On a typical day last week he
voiced 387 replies by dictaphone, which
three stenographers took down.) Ad­vanced
courses of ten and 40 lessons cost
respectively $xo and $so. Sending these
out keeps 6o Psychiana employes busy.
The firm also markets eleven Psychiana
textbooks, costing from $1.59 to $2.5o-­although
Founder Robinson's business aids
wondered last week if sales might not
slump when Psychiana students form
groups. share their books. Biggest Psy­chiana
gross to date was $400,000 in I934·
Frank Robinson says that at a visit to
the White House a year ago President
RouM:\·elt told him: '·Doc, you and 1 are
tf\·in,. to do the same thing: make people
ll;ink~" :\ top-notch salesman. Doc Robin­~
on has ne\'Cr for~:otten how. in his behind­'
he-counter drugstore days. he once sold
ti\'C one-gallon jugs of mine~al oil t? a
m:m who came in to buy a pml. Bes1des
its own building in :,\foscow. Psychiana
owns three dru~stores. a daily paper. the
.V c~us-Re'Vicw. An accomplished organist,
the founder has an Soc-pipe \rurlitzl·r in
his big Moscow home, invariably inc~udes
organ solos (preferably Brahms) in his
infrequent lectures. Though in tho,l' kt·
turcs Doc Robinson is inclined to bl:tst
the Christian churches, thus annoying
many of his hearers, he has Christian
charities at home--last year he g:wc a
new altar to ~Ioscow's Episcopal church.
To the Christian churches Doc Robin­~
on ascribes blame not only for altempts
in the past to have his transcribed ratlio
programs (from 18 stations) put ofi the
air. and to ha\'e the Post 'Office Depart­ment
find something ille~al abo\.. Psy­chi:
ma. but also for the fact that he was in­dicted
and tried on charges that he made
false statements in attempting to obtain a
t'. S. passport. He was acquitted in 1936.
Uoc Robinson. who, it turned out. had
~imply been mistaken about his birth-he
is actually a British subject-was then ar­rested
on a di.•portation warrant charging
him with illegal entry into the U. S. Upon
intcrven1ion of Idaho's Senator Borah.
who ~lays at the Robinson home when in
~loscow, the charge was dropped. His
~latus regularized by a trip to Cuba la!>l
summer, from which he returned on an
immigration visa. Doc Robinson is
n·ntly awaiting naturali?.ation papers.
POWERFUL COPY
BUILDS CULT OF
'MAIL MESSIAH'
Psychiana's Money- Back
Offer Gets 'Em
UY \ \"ILLI A.U P . GR AY. J R .
~!oscow, Idaho, June 22.- Dr.
Frank Bruce Robinson, founder ot
··Psychlana," the world's on 1 y
"money-back-guaranteed mail-order
l'ellgton," today counted another
milestone In the development of an
advertising program which has
stamped him as probably the most
unorthodox-and one of the most
successful-advertisers in the world.
Now Solicit His Copy
Newspapers have begun to solicit
his copy ror the first time in the
10 years of "Psycblaua's" existence,
and one network of 25 stations is
among the radio outlets now pre·
sentlng bls programs regularly, he
"MAN CAN NOW
TALK WITH GOD"
Robinson
boldface headline announced:
"MAN CAN NOW TALK WlTll
GOD."
The rest of the copy includes tho
frank statement that "Jesus had
NO MONOPOLY" on the power be·
bind "His so-called 'mit•acles','' but
that this same power "can be used
by anyone-AT ANY HOUJt 0 1<'
THE DAY OR NIGHT."
Exuding self-confidence, and Ilk·
able in the nth degree despite an
apparent lack of professional mod­esty,
Dr. Robinson pt·oudly cnns·
this advertisement "the greatest
piece of advertising copy ever writ­ten."
He spends between $60,000 and
$100,000 a year to place it in some 400
newspapers and about 50 magazines,
be said. It brought blm $400.000
worth of business in 1934, his big·
gest year, and will bring him ap·
proximately as much In 1938, he os·
timated. It bas brought. him more
than 500,000 "Psychiana" students
since the day he borrowed $500 to
told All\CUTI~I:'i{l A(1t: In nu
sive lntet·vlew.
exclu· start an advertising program iu
1928. They are scattered through
67 countries of the world-from
Nigeria to Norway, !rom Slam to
Scotland.
In the decade since "Psychlnna's"
fantastic beginning In this unlver·
slty town or 5,000 people, there has
never been a notable change In the
original display copy wl1lcb Dr.
"A revamping of the copy never
pulled within 50 per cent of the
Cl"Ude ad T originally j]rew up," he
declared. "One Chicago agency that
wanted my business agreed to pay
$750 for one insertion of an ad they
drew up. I agreed to give them my
account If their ad pulled as well
as mine. It drew 40 replies. My
original copy draws as high as 1,800
replies in the sanie magazine. I
heard . f1:om the agency
again."
For his purpose. he has discov­ered
that detective story magazines
invariably bring the highest re­Love
stories are "not so
hot." In newspapers he likes to be
near the comics. Unlike many ad·
vertlsers, he insists on a position
In the back part of both magazhies
and newspapers, because, he ex­plained.
"IC a reader Is Interested
enough to go that far, he's inter­ested
In what I have to say."
The "Psychiana" saga. began In a
drug store In Moscow where big,
friendly Frank B. Robinson, at the
age of 42, was earning $176 a month
as a registered pha•·macist. Once or­dained
as a Baptist minister In
Toronto, he bad never preached,
though he did previously beat a bass
drum In the Salvation Army.
His religious philosophy developed
during the years he was a drug
clerk In Portland. Ore .. and crystal·
lized Into writing after he came to
~1oscow. He borrowed $600 f•·om a
grocery clerk to start propagating
the doctrine, as yet unnamed.
Refuse His Copy
With $400 of this In his pocket,
he went to a Spokane, Wash.,
agency and asked them to Insert the
copy he presented In Psychologv
magazine. They refused, advising
him, "\Ve don't want to lose money
for you.''
Other agencies advised him the
copy was "mechanically Imperfect,"
"contained no adve1·t1slng message
at all" or that it was "the crudest
piece of advertising eve•· written."
Among other things, the coupon was
at the top left. He placed the copy
for himself, and, It drew 2.862 •·e·
plies.
Among those replying was one
Geolfrey Peel Birley an English cot­ton
Importer at Alexandria, Egypt,
who sem his picture. ln a dream
that night, Robinson thought he
saw Birley making mystic motions
over a corpse. explaining. "This Is
Psychlana, the power that wlll
bring new lite to a spiritually dead
world.''
The next day, Dr. Robinson says
-and he admits the story makes
l'lfm sound "nuts"-he adopted the
'!fame "Psychiana" and wrote Bir­ley,
"You are to be associated with
me In this business. Please send
$40,000." Two weeks later, a Spo­kane
bank telephoned him that
$20,000 had anived, and $20,000
more was due the next week. Sub·
sequently he bonowed another $35,-
000 from Birley, and Is still paying
It back.
The development o~ "Psychlana"
from that point on has been largely
a process of advertising and pro­motion,
In the course of which the
Federal Trade CommJssion baa
more than once investigated and ap.
proved the Robinson mall-order re-llglon
and its "mighty, never-fail­Ing
power."
Three agencies have handled the­"
Psychlana'' account, their princi­pal
task being the buying of space.
For the past five years, Lhe Izzard
Company, SeatUe, has been the��agency.
It recently produced a se­ries
of H transcribed radio pro­grams,
"Flashes of Truth," 15·min­ute
word-trips to Dr. Rol)lnson's
home in Moscow, where the Inter­rogator
ln"arlably finds the "Psy­chlana"
leader "at the console of
the SOQ-plpe Wurlftzer organ which
Is installed In the basement of his
home." The recordings 'vere made
In Seattle.
The Mutual-Don Lee network on
the Pacific Coast recently started
using the p1·ogram at 10:45 a. m.
Sunday mornings. It Is Dr. Robin­son's
plan to nse the same series
over again when the 14 broadcasts
are complete. An Iowa network, and
Individual stations as far west as
Honolulu are using the same series.
The programs are still eyed with
disfavor by some stations, however.
KGW-KEX, National Broadcasting
Company's Portland outlets. recently
turned down the series.
"Psycblana" courses for begin­ners
{20 lessons) cost $20, includ­Ing
an examination and as many
personal letters from Dr. Robinson
as the student asks for. Advanced
courses, 10 and 40 lessons, sell for
$10 and $50 respectively. The in­stalment
plan Is an essential part
of the Robinson business techniqut'.
and he now makes p•·clhninary
courses available at $1 down and'
$2.25 a month (total $28). Average
collections by mail are about half
of this.
With ama~lng franh"lless, D1·. Rob­Inson
points out In his radio pro,.
grams that "Psychiana's" material
rewards have been many tot· blm.
He owns the two-story lwick
Psychiana building here. t h •. t' e
pharmacies. a modern office build­Ing
for doctors and lawyers. and
the largest circulating newspaper in
l\Joscow. the News-Ret•i('ll', with its
job press which printed 75,000,000
J>ieces of "Psychiana" lltt>rature in
1937.
He quick!>· admits he has wasted
considerable money t'xperhnenting
with advertising, but he claims to
sell courses to 15 per cent or those
who reply to the first advertisement
and this, ht> says. Is an easy
world reco•·d. He USE'S nine follow­UJ>
S in direct mall camJ>aigns. the
first six a werk apart. the last tht·ee
30 tlays apart. The vast majority
or enrollments are received on the
first follow-up. He uses two colors
on mailing pieces. thinks color is a
waste in newspapers and magazines,
and finds It unprofitable to spend
more than 50 ct>nts pe1· reply £o•·
advertising.
Dubbed "Mall-order Messiah" and
sometimes compared to P. T. Bar·
num, Dr. Robinson wonies little
about criticism. but comlnues to re­gard
himself as a rare combination
of business executive. religious lead·
er. and advertising man.
(And you might be interested in
knowing that when he decided to
get a new <'ar a yeat· o•· so ago, he
sold his old Dusenberg to Mae
West.)
POWERFUL COPY
BUILDS CULT OF
'MAIL MESSIAH'
Psychiana 's Money· Back
Offer Gets 'Em
Dy 'WILJ. J .\ .U P. GRAY. JR.
~roscow, Idaho, June 22.-Dr.
Frank Bruce Robinson, founder of
"Psycbiana," the world's on 1 y
"money-back-guaranteed mail-order
religion," today counted another
milestone In the development of an
advertising program which has
stamped him as probably the most
unorthodox-and one of the most
successful-advertisers in the world.
Now Solicit His Copy
Newspapers have begun to solicit
his copy for the first time in the
10 years of "Psychiana's" existence,
and one network of 25 stations is
nmong lhe radio outlets now pre·
sentlng his programs regularly, he
"MANCANNOW
TALK WITH GOD"
Robinson
boldface headline announced:
"MAN CA.'\ NOW TALK WITH
GOD."
The rest oC the copy include!! tho
Crank statement that "Jesus had
NO MONOPOLY" on the pOWOI" bO·
bind "His so-called 'miracles'," but
that this same power "can be used
by anyone-AT ANY HOUH. OF.
THE DAY OR NIGHT."
Exuding self-confidence, and Ilk·
able in the nth deg1·ee despite an
apparent lack of professional mod·
esty, Dr. Robinson p1·oudly calls
this advertisement "the greatest
piece of advertising copy ever writ·
ten."
He spends between $60,000 and
$100,000 a year to place it in some 400
newspapers and about 50 magazlnes,
be said. It brought him $400.000
worth of business in 1934, his big·
gest year, and "-'ill bring him ap­proximately
as much in 1938, he es·
timated. It has brought Wm more
than 500,000 "Psychiana" students
since the day he borrowed $500 to
told AD\t:RIIM:<(<l Ao~; In an cxclu· start an advertising program In
slve inte1·view. 1928. They are scattered through
In the decade since "Psycbiana's" 67 countries of the world-from
fantastic beginning In this univer· Nige1·ia to Norway, from Slam to
slty town of 6,000 peOJ)Ie, there has Scotland.
never been a notable change In the "A revamping of the copy never
original display copy which Dr. pulled within 50 per cent of the
crude ad 1 originally dt·ew up." he
declared. "One Chicago agency that
wnnted my business agreed to pay
$760 for one insertion of an ad they
drew up. I agreed to give them. my
account If their ad pulled as well
as mine. It drew 40 replies. My
original copy draws as high as 1,800
replies in the same magazine. I
never heard . fiom the agency
again."
For his purpose. he bas discov·
ered that detective stot·y magazines
lnvat·lably bring the highest re·
Love stories are "not so
hot." In newspapers he likes to be
near the comics. Unl1ke many ad·
\'ertlsers, be insists on a position
In the back part ot both magazines
and newspapers, because, he ex­plained,
"If a reader Is Interested
e11ough to go that far, he's inter­ested
In what .I have to say."
The "Psychiana" saga began in a
drug store In Moscow where big,
friendly Frank B. Robinson, at the
age or 42, was earning $176 a month
as a registered pharmacist. Once or­dained
as a Baptist minister In
Toronto, he had never preached,
though he did previously beat a bass
drum In the Salvation Army.
llls religious philosophy developed
during the years he was a drug
clerk In Portland. Ore .. and crystal­lized
into writing after he came to
:\1oscow. He borrowed $500 from a
grocery clerk to start propagating
the doctt·lne, as yet unnamed.
Refuse His Copy
With $400 of this in his pocket,
be went to a Spokane, Wash.,
agency and asked them to Insert the
copy he presented In Psvehologv
magazine. They refused, advising
blm, ·•we don't want to lose money
ror you."
Other agencies advised him the
COl>Y was "mechanica11y Imperfect,"
"contained no advertising message
at all" or that it was "the crudest
piece of advertising e'•er written."
Among other things, the coupon was
aL the top left. He placed the copy
ror himself, and. it drew 2.852 re­plies.
Among those replying was one
Geoft'rey Peel Birley an English cot­ton
Importer at Alexandria, Egypt,
who sent his picture. In a dream
that night, Robinson thought he
saw Birley making mystic motions
ove1· a corpse. explaining. "This Is
Psycblana, the power that will
bring new life to a spiritually dead
world."
The next day, D1·. Robinson says
-and be admits the story makes
)Hn1 sound "nuts"-be adopted the
'~tame "Psychiana" and wrote Bir­ley,
"You are to be associated with
me In this business. Please send
$40,000." Two weeks later, a Spo·
kane bank telephoned him that
$20,000 had arrived, and $20,000
more was due the next week. Sub­sequently
he borrowed another $35,·
000 from Birley, and is stUl paying
tt ba.ck.
The development o~ "Psycblana"
from that point on has been largely
a process of advertising and pro­motion,
In the course of which the
Federal Trade Commission has
more than once investigated and ap­proved
the Robinson ntall·order re-llgfon
and its "mighty, nevet·-fail­ing
power."
Three agencies have handled the­"
Psycbiana" account, their princi­pal
task being the buying of space.
For the past five years, the Izzard
Company, Seattle, has been the
agency. It recently produced a se­ries
ot 14 transcribed radio pro­grams,
"!<'lashes of Truth," 15-min­ute
word-trips to Dr. Robinson's
home in Moscow, where the inter­rogatot
· Invariably finds the "Psy­chlana"
leader "at the console of
the 800-plpc Wurlitzer organ which
is lnsta11ed In the basement o! his
home." The recordings were made
In Seattle.
The Mutual-Don Lee network on
the Pacific Coast recently started
using the program at 10:45 a. m.
Sunday mornings. It is Dr. Robin­son's
plan to use the same series
over again when the 14 b1·oadcasts
at·e complete. An Iowa network, and
Individual stations as tar west as
Honolulu are using the same se1·ies.
Tho programs are still eyed with
disfavor by some stations, however.
KGW-KEX, National Broadcasting
Company's Portland outlets, recently
tumed down the series.
"Psychlana" courses for begin­ners
(20 lessons) cost $20, includ­Ing
au examination and as many
personal letters from Dr. Robinson
as the student asks for. Advanced
courses, 10 and 40 lessons, sell for
$10 and $50 respectively. The in·
stalment plan Is an essential part
or the Robinson business technique.
and be now makes pn•lhninary
courses available at $1 clown and
$2.25 o month (total $28). Average
collections by mail are about half
of this.
With amazing !rankness. Dr. Rob­Inson
points out In his radio pro­grams
that "Psychiano.'s" material
rewards have been mo.ny for him.
lie owns the two-story \wick
Psyrhlann. building here. 1 h 1' e e
phat·macles, a modern office lmild­lng
tor doctors and lawyers. and
the largest circulating newspaper in
:\!oscow, the Sews-Rel'il·u-. with its
joh p1·ess which printt>d i5,000,000
pieces of "Psyclliana" litE>ralure in
1937.
He Quickly admits he has wasted
consldemble money <•xpt>rimenting
with advertising, but he claims to
sell courses to 15 per cent or those
who rcJ)Iy to the first advert1sement
-and this, he says, Is an easy
wot•ld l't'<'Ord. He usE's nine follow­ups
In direct mall campaigns. the
first six a we<>k apart. the last three
30 days apart. The vast majority
of enrollments are received on the
first ronow-up. He uses l wo colors
on mailing pieces. thinks <·olor is a
waste in nE:'wspapers and magazines.
and finds It unprofitable to spend
mo1·e l han 50 cems per reply Cor
adve•·tlslug.
Dubbed "Mall-order Messiah" and
sometimes compared to P. T. Bar­num,
Dr. Robinson wonies little
about criticism. but continues to re­gard
hlmsel! as a rare combination
of business executive. religious lead­er
and advertising man.
(And you mlgbl be Interested in
knowing that when he decided to
get o n<>w <'ar a year or so ago. he
sold his old Dusenbet·g to Mae
West.)
Starts Campai
for Worthy
Causeo
In an c!!ort to keep intac~ the
Idaho Inshtutc or Christian Edu­cation
at the University of Idaho,
Dr. Frank B. Robinscn today
began scliciting his '��friends and
ftudents throu~hout the world"
for contl ibutions.
Dr. 'Rooinson's decision to ask
help from lus friends and stu
dents .was made after a confer­ence
with Dr. C. \\'. Tenney, di­rec~
or of U1t.> Inst:tute, Dr. C. M.
Drury. past.:>r of the Presbyteri:~.t
chutch here, and Wayne Stmt:l
of the department of education
the unlversity.
Conft>rs Jn Washington,
Dr. Rob:nson also had a
conference in \\rashington, D.
recently with Dr. Carl D. Wells
\~ho spent three y~ars as dir('c­~
or of the Instilute prior to Rev­<-'
end Tenne~. Dr. Wells now is
proJes"o:: o!. sociology at the
George Wa"hington university.
In his Jettc1· to his studc.nt.i
and friends, Dr. Robinson says:
"On the C<Jmpus ct the Univen;itv
of Idaho stands the Idaho lnstitut~
of Chrbtian Educ.ation. This in­stitution
is intcr-denominaticnal
nd the main coject is to tcnch
the fundamentaLs of religion t'>
students who care to study them.
The institUtiOn has had pretty
sa1Ung llnancialiy since fts
nception and the manag(ment
been unable to secure an en ..
for it. I am given to
that its treasury is
now almost depleted and unles:;
funds can be raised immediately,
Uti.; insWution will. in all prob­ability,
be clor.cd.
"Now, l hal'C undertakep io cir·
cularize my students and friend~
throughout the world and Jay the
muf.er before them. As you Jmow,
there arc mnny things connected
with orthodox theology \l-ith which
I do not see eye to eye, yet I
h:lvc c:c:tSistently suppcrteu :my­fWng
\\:hic~t might help anyone to
il happier- anll bctt»r life. I •hink
the Idaho Institute of c:uislittn
will eo just .PX2.~th
care to,
mct if they h:l\'e a fe .v dollar"
they can spare. I would like them
to send a check. postoffice order.
or ca:.h registered mail. to Mr
Charles Flatt. treasurer o! the Ida­ho
Institute of Christian Educa­tion,
Mos-cow. Idaho. Please do
not send yom· che;:ks or
order:; to me.
Bre<!d on \'\':1ie::s.
• I am asking you at. this time
to cast a little bread upon the
waters, because it is a law of na~
tun•. and a law of nature's God.
thnt bread so cast upon the "'a~rs
invariably returns."
Drs. Drury, Tenney and W;~yn.::
h expressed gratific<tion
h Dr. Robin~n·s effor.t> to
keep the Idaho Inr-~'ute of
Christian EducalJOil intact. "It
mighty fine t.hing for Dr.
to do and we certainly ap
predate his efforts to help
in this very worth-while cause,"
Ot·. Tenney said.
Dr. Robinson said he expected
to mail out 250,000 letters in con­ll<.'
ction with this move.
c5ttAN [AN TALK TO QOD
By FRANK B. ROBINSON
Here is a menage from Dr. Frank B. Robinson, the
founder of the PSYCHIANA movement, to the
reeders of EVERYDAY PSYCHOLOGY AND IN­SPIRATION.
Dr. Robinson believes that "all in·
splretlon comes from the great realm of the spirit
of God."
LOOKING back over the past five years as I sit here in
my study this morning, I recall the consternation
aroused in this little city of Moscow, Idaho, when the first
advertisement announcing Psychiana appeared in a national
magazine just a little over five years ago. I remember
how little groups met on street corners in this Godly little
city and held indignation meetings and made all sorts of
predictions about this Movement and its founder. The most
optimistic of all the local wiseacres stated that six months
would be the limit of the life of Psychiana.
Little did they dream and little did I dream how rapidly
the teaching would encircle the globe.
I knew my philosophy of God was true and I was pretty
well convinced that the world needed it, so I dreamed a
dream, never bothering too much about how the fullfill­ment
of the dream would come, being satisfied to give my
teaching to the world as intelligently as I knew how to,
leaving the results in the hands of the great Creator of this
Universe, whose truth must eventually cover the earth as
the water covers ll1e sea.
It was a hard fight, for at first I worked all day in ll1e
little drug store here in Moscow and looked after the mail·
ing at night. After a couple of months of this, the volume
of mail became heavy enough to justify the engagement of
one girl working four hours a day. I rented one little
office about nine feet square and built the tables and furni·
ture myself, with the aid of a few friends. Inside of sixty
days, however, it became necessary to rent two more offices,
and inside of six months, we had to move out into a very
much larger building. I signed a lease on this building for
five years, bu~ inside of six months, I was compelled to
move once more.
The success of the Movement was assured right from
the very start, so I purchased a quarter of a block of prop·
erty in the heart of Moscow and moved once more into the
two-story building upon this property. We were there less
than a year, however, when it became necessary to build
our present structure, and although we only moved into
this structure last March, bids have already been called
for a very much larger building and construction will be
started upon this as soon as possible.
Our foreign business bas grown to such an extent that it
has become necessary to install a foreign department and
what the end of this Movement will be, I am not prepared
to say. I expect it to be one of the greatest religious
Movement for God this world has ever seen and if it grows
Everyday Psychology
Aor II 193S
DR. FRANK B. ROBINSON
as rapidly the next five years as it bas grown the last five,
that vision of mine will be an accomplished fact.
This Movement alone keeps Moscow a first-class post
office for we spent last year $26,000.00 in postage. My
last order for envelopes was four and one-half million, and
we buy tons of paper every month. In addition to this, we
own a large printing establishment which takes care of our
printing matter and which prints the largest circulating
newspaper in Latah County, which paper we own.
In PsychiaM headquarters, we have two very fast multi·
graphing machines in addition to the six presses at the
News-Review office. I imagine we turn out in the neighbor·
hood of 80,000 printed pieces of paper here every day.
Within one year from the date of the release of this
teaching, it had gone into sixty-seven different countries
and now our advertisements are appearing in every country
in the world where the English language is read and
spoken.
ONE of the most amazing things about this Movement
is the response on the part of the public wherever
I am scheduled to deliver a public address. In Los Angeles
less than one month ago, in the huge Trinity Auditorium,
thousands of people were turned away one hour before the
P rac tica l Psycho l ogy, ju ne 1938
1-1 E MAKES PEOPLE ,
· T1-1 ·1 N K
Dr. Frank B. Robinson of Mos­cow,
Idaho, teaches his philoso­phy
of living to hundreds of
thousands of students in. sixty-seven
countries
TEN years ago Frank B. Robinson was a drug
clerk in a small-town drug store. Today he is
the honored teacher of thousands of followers
of PBychiana all over the world. he is a leading. citi­zen
in that same small town of )Joscow, I daho, the
director of a vast enterprise which includes a fine
office building, three drug stores and a. daily news­paper.
the News Revieu•, as well as a complete print~
in~ plnnt and nll the apparatus necessary for the
operation of a lnrge mail-order organization.
'.rhis nmnzing story of achievement began in the
faith nnd enorgy of one man- faith in himself, faith
ii1 his nc'v, revolutionary conception of religion and
its power to help every human being to a fuller,
happier life. The conviction that he was RIGHT,
nnd thnt ho had a message for the world kept the
underpaid drng clerk struggling. After he had
worked out his ideas in the spare time from his job.
Robinson knew that he would need help in setting
out his conceptions before his fellow men. Boldly,
confident of the future, he started out one winter ·
night to inten·iew a number of friends; he returned
that same night with several hundred dollars of
borrowed money in his pocket, the expression of
that same faith in himself which he had been able
to imbue in other~. 'With that money he inserted his
first advertisement in a magazine, and from that
beginning he went on to bring his philosophy,
PBycJdfma, to the people of sixty-seven countries of
the "·orld within a year I
ThaL first ndvortisemcnt brought forth close to
thrco thousand replies. One of these was from a
BriLish business mun who lhred in Alexandria,
Egypt. Tho night, that Doctor Robinson received
this man's letter he had a strange dream. As a result
o{ this dt·enm he wt·ote to the man in Egypt, telling
him \Vith supreme self-confidence that they were to
•
by ALVA AM~S
be associated in lhe task of propagating Psychiana
throughout the world. With simple directness, he
asked this business man whom he had never seen to
forward forty thousand dollars to finance the work.
Two weeks later a bank in Spokane, Washington.
informed Doctor Robinson that twenty thousand
dollars had been deposited to his account, and that
twenty thousand more had been promised for the
following week!
As Doctor Robinson himself frankly remarks,
such n story "makes me sound nuts., Yet it is true.
and the organization which was built on this rock
of determination nnd purposefulness now includes
hundreds of thousands of "students, throughout the
world, who are lenrning to live according to the
philosophy which Doctor Robinson presents to them
in a steady, ever-growing · flood of literature, per­sonal
letters in response to questions and carefully
mapped-out "courses". These students are now
forming themselves into study groups, which will
meet in every part of the globe to read the Doctor's
books and discuss his principles.
As n little boy in England Frank Robinson won·
dered about God, listening to the sermons of his
~tern father, who was a Baptist minister. When he
wns fourteen, the boy ran away from home, to seek
the answ-(!r to his problem wherever it might be.
His twenty-first birthday found him a registered
pharmacist in the town of Belleville, Ontario. in
Canada. Still seeking the truth, young Robinson
ga.,·e much of his time and energy t.o the local Salva­tion
Army unit. In Belleville and in the metropolis
oi' 'Poronto, he sought among many different re­ligious
groups for the answer. After a tiine this
single-minded, hardworking young man came to the
attention of Dr. Elmore Harris, who was the presi­dent
of McMaster University at Hamilton, Ontario.
'With this man's help, Robinson went through the
nnc.l its Bible School.
Ordained a Baptist minister in
Toronto, Robinson never preach­ed,
but continued to study psy­chology,
becoming a great follow­er
of the famous William James,
of HarYard. From this he was led
to the study of metaphysics, and
from 1915 to 1918 he studied with
the College of DiYine :Metaphysics
at Indianapolis. From this insti­tution
he rccch·ed the degree of
Doctor of Divinity, soon followed
by Doctor of Psychology .
. Doctor Robinson came to Mos­cow,
Idaho, in 1928. He began
'vriting o\lt his newly-formulated
ideas and working at mailing
them out, answering letters and
telephone C!tlls from a tiny office.
Soon it became necessary to de­vote
more time and to get larger
quarters for the mailing and writ­in~
tnsks. And not much later
Doctol' Robinson had to leave his
place in the drug:;tore.
Today P:>ycMaoo employs sixty
persons, who are kept busy furn­ishing
the world with the details
of the Doctor's philosophy. It is
located in a beautiful ten thou-sand
dollar building, with another
forty thousand dollar one in proc­e...
c:s of construction. Mo!'cow, seat
of the University of Idaho, was
a second-class post office when
Doctor Robinson settled there. It
has jumped to first clns!', Psy­chiaoo
having sent out more and
more mail-SH,8:i2.G3 worth lnst
year. On a typical dny recently
Doctor Robinson dictntecl into a
battery of dictaphones ::\Si letters
in reply to personal inquiries.
Doctor Robinson, who now lh·es
in a beautiful home containing an
800-pipe Wurlitzer organ, upon
which he frequently plays his fa.
vorite ·Brnhms, hns made his life
into a story of work nnd achieve­ment
by helping olhcrs to find n
way to a better life. In a recent
visit to the' ""bite House, the
President of the United States re­marked
to this former drugstore
clerk, "Doc, you and I are trying
to do the same thing: make people
think." It is by mnkinr: others
think that the influential men of
this age have made their
thoughts really effective.
'\'fO t hu 1 os A ngelcs &ocond Trust
.1nd ::O.a\'ings Bank strode ~ tall,
hu-..ky Hngli!;hman with a prairie·
land acct·nt. He walked up to the
c:'blner, a man he had ne'er "et'n ueforc.
thi~ betng the first lime he had ever
t ntcretl the bank, and said :
"Hl'IIO, I wnnt to borr(lw 1,500
Iars (£300 , and if }OU'II
out a ,not<.> •. I 'll sign it."
nMn s vo,ce "a' so con­forc<>
fnl, that the cash·
lmlr did .so. Taking the
the I· ngh,Jnnan "tartcd
\'(l the uank, then
..rotmcl and said
cashier : "Do you
who I am ?'' The
jerked into ac­realiSed
that the
to whom he bad jllSt paid £300 was a
cu•up • ..,v~stranger to him, grabbed him say­inll'
:''No, I don•t •.. "
1 he En~:lishman \\:IS I· rank H. I<obmson
"Jn of a• Baptist prcachr1·, "hn \\Cnt to
Anl<'ri~ <\ at .m l'arly age
Fantastic Story
T E::\ y<'ars ago, at forty three, the
Fnghhhman was a poorly pnid drug­store
lk·rk, wilh no savings, no hopes, no
ulur<' .. . to-day he is chid cit.1zen of
budding town of "lo~ow . Idaho:
of an amazing "rdigion by m:lil"
cl~im"' ·• cYcry man c:1n talk to Cod,"
O\cr 600,000 follower~ .
Hobin~on is pro~perou"'. famous and
1appy, one of the most fantastic success
of the century.
housands of folloWI:rs cl:1im that he
Every body 's Weekly , May 13, 1939
HIS PRAYERS BY POS
CURE THOUSANDS
ihl~
I•IOII!i\hl
them n~ hes,
h appint~s .
health, com­plet
ely changed
their Jive's . . .
and he do<'i it all
with a p<>-tage
stamp I
Rob1nson
credits !11s
success to
hiS d i S•
covery of
the powt·r of
God. He
walked into Frank B. that b.111k to
R b
. pro\'e 1t ...
0 tnSOn but Stl'3ngcr
things th.1n
th.Lt l.a\'e happen<·d to l.im . . . .
He asked stranger for
I ;r..s ~ Y....:..'.I.i.:..·.:.w.....:.·.:.r..i..l.o....n...¥....·..1. ; £ 8 ,0 00-an d got t·f .!
send .£." 000." Two wet"k, larcr 'l But the 1a~t rcm:un:; tlut thou •n•
local b: ol; notihed Rqbin:;on !hat hail hun ; thousand' even &:1\ that lu·
£.J,()QO hn~l been depo-ited with helped them cure anything in•m luvi."·
them, th, t the colton imiX-rter had :>iclmcss to a n1ptured appcnd;x.
promlSL-d another .£-i.OOO the iollow- lh-re 1S a let tcr I took at rnndmn
JO!e w~ck. So "Psy._hiana," as Robin,;;on Frank B. Hobinson's files ~-
called hi:! tc..oachinl{s, was lK•rn. )lr. S1l>ll'y, Twcnty-~ i ne Paint'<, { ,'\1, :
F ind that ont· tlitlicult to believe? I did. " Some time ago I wrote you lor help tor
Even " Doc " Hol>inson adulit:; tbat the my wife whom the doctors had lfiven two
story " make' me sound nuts," b ut it's weeks to live. I brought her out to die
t rue. While the good people of ':lfoscow get well. We have found God and abe
pointed to hill\ ancl Mid " He's crazy !" getting well ... "
Crazy a~ it all soundeU.. Robinson A ·
definitely .. hnd something." From all mazmg Recovery
corne~ of the earlll people wrote to the L E'fTEHS lake that arrive at e-ve-ry
man who clanned that an}' man could post. Some U1anking hun . other~
have par ltv ''ith Cod. asking for hclp. Somt- evl·n "lh' fur help
- There is theca~ on record ~·fa ~t-10 York Health, Wealth, Happiness follower "lao "ired Robinson nt noon <me
ROlll~So~ ·::; tcachinl):> cau$ed the day askmg for help for a fnenil " hum
• mall to\\ n of .Moscow to leap to dc.ctors fcan·d was dying. TI1 ·n U•e
r:·o .lincncc. The former failure \r.lS now follOWl:l' calmly told the patient',
employing dOlCllS of people, spending that she "ould be better the nc~1
£3,000 a year on postage stamps alone, She had appemlic1tts but m::de n arn
riding around in an hundred-mile-an-hour recov<.>ry ��..
car, li'\'inl." in a beautiful hOu$e with At first Robinson charged lour
his '"'" · •ght hundred pipe organ. As for his course ; thousands willingly paid it.
Robinson sits at this organ in the evening Although be procured for hinueU the
and plays, usually Brahms, he muses over luxuri~ of life he long lacked. Bobi1110n
his success. poured the profits back into the bunnua &o
.\s C\'er) tlung used once to go wrong. promulgate his teachings.
now c\'erytlung goes right-since he Jay ~o" he has made n lx>lrl move lie
down beneath that tree. He owns a drug- offer .. Ius course free. Students are mert'l ·
store, instead of wc.rking in one; a printing a~kt'<l to semi him what the~ pi asc tf
works;ane\\:<paperand sati~6ed. Strange as it seems they
..................... ._....................... ntore bc~ides. I ha\""e a sending hint on an average n1oro
... in the rich black soil copy of his eyening when he a~ked for a set fee . . • But
of North-western Amer- newspaper before me. then ~trnnge things happen to !·rank
Ten years ago, ,,j~h a \life and lbild,llc
btcpped Iroro a tram that stOpJ>eU for a
moment at the drab. inconsp1cu ou~ small
tO\\ n of ~Io:;cow, buritxl in the fc1 t ilc black
soil of Idaho, Xorth·westcrn fanning
~tate. He was brok<·,
miserable; at forty·
three, a failure. But.
the Englishman trans­planted
hirnseU in that
rich soil; and sproutc!.l
hkc the tall, green,
healthy corn that acre
after acre swayed in
the breeze . ...
:>io diftcrent from any B. Rohi .
ica an Englishman has paper of its t:rf>t". yet it
transplanted himself. ~\~~ ~~: ~~~~:\~~~;.Ia·
Robinson found a
poorly paid job in a
drug:· :;tore- then he
found God. Lying on the
His is one of the most But that's the way
fantastic success stories things happen to Robin-son.
And the people
of the century. . . , who once thought him
••••••••••--••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• .. cra1.y • ., nO\\' th.ank
grass, under a tree, he declares. the l' '" cr of
God came to him. He had strctch<-d out on
the grass before-looking for God-,, hen
he was a young lad in a Baptist home m
England. But he didn't find Cod there.
The Tide Turned
HE joined the Pre.-,bytenaJb; he
thumped a big drum in the Sal\',ltion
Army; he taught Sunday School: be
joined the Christian Endeavour, a dozen
other creeds. But he didn't find God with
a.ny of them. He remained a failure until
that sunny Sunday afternoon beneath an
Idaho tree.
Exactly how God came tu l<ob1nson, he
dwsn't say. But it was somcthin~ trc·
mendous, shaking. for a moment blmding.
He rushed back to the small mom behind
the drug-store where he worked. and
started furiously writing. :For days.
weeks, months he wrote, then he borrowed
£100 from a friend .
him for a beautiful
park and lake, ctemal monuments to
Robin~n himself.
Recently he \\cnt to \\"ashin.,on and
met President l{oosevelt. Said the Presi­dent
: " Doc. you and I are trymg to do
the same tlung; make peopl<.> think. '
To-day Robinson's 600,000 students in
sixty-seven countries claim thai be has
brougb~ them to understand God, helped
them find health, wealth, happiness.
She's Getting Well
T O try to undcr:>tand their \'ie"-point, I
read some of " Doc " Robinson's
teaclungs. In a small fiat off the Strand I
lay quiet, a..<l Robinson instructed, told
myself time and time again, " I believe in
the Power of the Living Cod . . • "
Frankly, nothing happened to me. Per­haps
1 didn't tf long enough, hard
enough. l'rrhap~ am too S.'l.ti<:6ed "ith
my lnt
Of this he took £80.
bougbt advert ising space
in a psychology maga·
zme, ad\'ertised !lis be·
hcfs. His ad. brought in
three thousand replies I
The tide had turned.
"He's Crazy"
One reply came from a
Bntish cotton importer in
Egypt. who sent his
photograph.. That very
n1ght .Roi>insoo dreamed
he saw the cotton man
standing O\'er a corp..c,
saying : ·• This is Psychi·
Ana, the power that will
life t~ a spiritu-
NEXT day the drut;·
store derk, to whom
nothing \\as now an im·
pos~1bility, calmly wrote
to the cotton man : " You
arc to be associated with
m~in thishu-·n • Please
DR. FRANK B. ROBINSON
Could "correct" Hitler.
Creator of Faith
Says 'It's McCoy'
Looking like the businessman
he is, Dr. Frank B. Robinson,
creator of the mail-order religion,
Psychiana, arrived in Washington
yesterday. registered at the May·
flower, and announced:
"This Is no racket. This is the
real McCoy."
Robinson isn't In town on re·
llgious matters . .ric's here to get
the RFC to help finance half the
cost of a hospital in his home
town of Moscow. Idaho. But he'll
talk about his religion.
For years a drug clerk, he bor·
rowed $500 10 years ago and in·
serted an advertisement in a maga­zine
announcinll he had found a
new religion and had "talked to
God.''
Robinson claims to have 8,000
students in Washington alone. and
added last night that "When you
print a story about me. this place
w111 be besieged. But I'll be out of
town by then."
Robinson talks like that all the
time, but he doesn't sound con·
eel ted. He says he merely is " put­ting
it to you straight, the way
lt is."
Psychiana, :Mail-Order Faith,
Gives :Moscow, Idaho, a Boom
There arc only 1,500 J)('()ple in :\Ioscow,
Idaho, hut it has one of the busiest post
olliccs in the slate. Into its mail chutes
lust weck poured a tor•·enl of outward­bound
lt'llcrs, addressed to no 1..-ss than
700,000 prr·sons in ()7 countries. All carried
an iderrliculmessage: "Visualize the picture
of Adolf Hitler and repeal eamcstly and
forcefully, 'The spirit or God will bring
~·our clownfall'." All bore the signature of
Dr. Frank 13. Robin!'on, creator of a mail­order
rcli~ion calil'd Psychiana.
Frank Robin~on-big, huslling, and
ftashilv drt>sst>d-is a 5 ~-year-old En~li~h­man
~-ho cnmc to America in his 'lt•«:ns,
studied bricOy for the Baptist mini~>try,
and finally d.ccidcd the Christian gospel
was '·neith..-r ori~oinal nor true." He look lo
the road, drug-clerking his way to Los
Angeles. Portland, Ore., Yakima, Wash.,
and :Moscow.
One night eleven years ago, in his
furnished room uhove a lVIoscow dr·ngslore,
Robinson's f..-rLile bruin ga.ve birth to the
idea that developed into Psychiann. He told
himself lhal all cr·ecds, dogrnns, and organ­ized
religions w«:re needless, that h..-aven
could be reached here and now, thnt men
could work miracles i£ only they listened
for orders from God and ran their lives
accordingly, and that he was the one to
show them how to do it.
It was the end of what Robinson now
calls "43 years or horrible, sickening, dis­mal
failure." lie borrowed $1,500 nnd
hought space in a pulp mugazine, ndverlis­ing
a series of le~ ons in Psychiana for $!JO.
The first ad brought in $30,000. Within a
~·car Robinson and his American wife,
working nights in tl1e furnished room, were
poundin~ out le ons for 12.000 students.
They built a plant to print Lllrir own
literature m1cl hranclled out fir:.t with :\
weekly. then with The :Moscow Daily
News-Review. They built drugstores, ~~
Psyclliana heudquarl(·rs, ami an oll'icc
building. 'l'hcy gtwc Moscow a park anti
offered a library lo the neighboring Uni­versity
of Idaho.
Psychinna's staff of !35, headed by o.
former l\Iethodist college president named
C. W. Tenney, now turns out 1,600,000
pieces of mail a year. It advertises through
eighteen radio stations, 400 newspapers,
and 50 magazines. Recently Robinson and
Tenney took their first "tep on the road to
organizing a church: they offered a doctor
of divinity "degree" in exchnnge for two
years' study, two book reviews, a thesis,
and $150.
The advertising barps on one prime
theme. Robinson describes his happy
family (wife, son, and daughter), his ex­pensive
car, his well-tailored clothes, his
mansion full of rich furniture and thick
carpets, and the SOQ-pipc organ l1c plays to
record background music for his broad­casts.
He says, in effect: "See what Psychi­ana
has done for me!" And he claims it has
worked for others: he hns 150,000 letters
from satisfied students, crediting P ychiana
with cures for heart di~ease. asthma, paraly­sjs,
ruptured appendi~c , dipsomania, tum­ors,
sadness, unemplo~·menl, and poverty.
But despite his personal opulence, Robin­son
declares he gets only a <oalary and that
Psycl1iana operates at a Jo~s (about $12,000
this year). Last week he wa plugging l1ard
at two new fund-raising drives: (1) for a
new teachers' college, a re:-earch institute,
a new headquarters building, and more
publicity; (2) for $100,000 to finance a
projected series of mass meetings, begin­ning
in Portland, Seattle, and San Fran­cisco,
to hurl the "power of God" against
Hitler, the "war-mnd dictator." In a full­page
ad in The Portland Oregonian, he
suggested that some "lady or gentleman"
might like to endow the anti-Hitler drive.
Pathfinde 'r
CAPITAL CI-IA T
Man Who Talked With God
• 1 Talktd lrifh God''
( 1'c~. 1 Di(l-.-l.cluallg a.nd Literally)
P ROBABL Y no advertisement in
PATHFJ:\"DER intrigues us as
much as the one beginning with these
startlingly unequh·ocal lines. Who is
this man, Dt·. Frank B. Robinson, who
tnlks with God? How does he <lo it?
Last week, we found out. At least,
we think we found out. In Washing­ton
to see about getting some Federal
monc~ to help build a hospital in :\Ios­<"
OW, Idaho-his beadqua1·ters-Doc
Hohinsou dropped in to chat with us.
1 lc'li a big, bespectacled man, with
<'lose-cropped grey hair, blue eyes, aud
:t blulr. hearty manner. '')fany people
call me a damned roughneck,'' he told
us confidentiall\.
Dr. Robinson- does talk with God
and we could. too, be informed us
l'ighl off. Howe"er. some preparatory
work is required. You start by re­pl•
aling this affirmation over and over:
.. , bdie,·e in the power or the living
God.'' When you are com·inced of that,
~ ou I nke up another affirmation: "I
:un finding the power of the living
God." You keep this up until suddenly
''the realm of the lidng God is ven·
real lo you'' and you find yourseir
talking to God.
After· you get God's eat, so to speak,
II<· will give you good advice on bow
to soh·e your problems. The result is
~ Olll' "material benefits" mount and
you find "sweet peace." At any rate,
lltnt's whnt happened to him said the
Doc. Ten years ago, when be 'launched
"Psychiana" (the name of his relig­ion),
he was a poor drug clerk in
:\loscow. Today, he owns the largest
lll•wspapcr in Xorth Idaho, the Rob­iuson
Professional Building, the Ex­dusiYc
Prescription Pharmacy, and a
line brick house, where he liYes with
his wife and two children. As "Psycb­iana's''
president, he gets 8750 a
month.
S IXCE he started "Psycbiana" in
1929 as a corporation, Doc Rob­inson
said, his followers haYC in­l'rc:
tsed by lt>aps and botwds and now
number 750,000 in the linited States
and 67 other countries. "Psychiana''
lill'ratu1·e (including a weekly, a
quarterly and "lessons" for students,
which are sold at $20 a series) is
pl'inf('(l in 17 languages.
To handle this literature, the Do<·
has a staff of 40 men and women. In
October, they mailed out 1,200,000 dif­ferent
pieces. The staff members also
kCCJ> a file of testimonials from people
who say they have talked to God; they
now have so many - 150 000- that
lhc)·'re thr?wing the new ~nes away.
Doc Robmson told us he's 56 years
old and that he was born in Henley­in-
Arden, England- same place as
Shakespeare. His father is a Baptist
preacher there yet. The Doc bimselr
Robmson Explttin~J Hoa It's Done
graduated from the Baptist Theologi­cal
Scminnr) at Toronto, Can , but
ne,·er preached the Baptist faith.
"Didn't b<'licve their stuff," he said
jovially.
When he tnlkcd to us, Dr. Robinson.
who is, incidentally, a staunch Repub­lican,
wns mildly incensed over
dwrl(<''> that he mnde himself rich by
scJli ng ''Psychinna" lessons. "~fatter
or fact," he snid before he left us,
''Psychiann" is $110,000 in debt to me."
Enough
il
Nov . 151 1939 New Religion
Makes Debut
In Los Angeles
'----------By Westbrook Pegler·---------
Los A:\GF.I.l•:S, !\O\', H.- '!'here the district attornt>Y. and wa;; . ur· comroentRQ' on rclldou~ freedom,
appeared In I.os An~:("lt'~ on r•rlsed to learn that thi11 weiJ.In· but that's lbP "ay It ,lloes, neYer·
Election Day, ,..hrn the queeries formed locat official. whosP detec- theless. 1 altem}ltt>d no compari­ot
the to11·n 11·ere in their most th·e bureau combines thP best ele- son bet\\ ecn tbf! Great I Am faith
auscepUble mood, a page ad\'f'rli~e- ments or the Gestar>o and the Jo'. B. and Ps,chianl\ beyond an obsern­ment
or 1,20(1 words by Dr. l>'rank I .. never had heard ol his eminent tJon that the Prophet Ballard ne\'er
B. Robln11on or Mosoov.·, Idaho, who Cello'!\ citizen. PMI)'S to his gods but order" them
claimed that he has talked with "The Great I Am?" Mr. Fitta about like flunkeys, whereas Dr.
God and, for a price, is willing to Robinson or ,\lo~cow, Idaho. fOI·
reveal the secret or a new religion lows convention and ~ets excellent
which he calls P~ychlana. Some The opinions exprened by rel!ulta, too.
paper& In Borne clUes mi~ht reject columnists and contributors • • •
auch COllY, but in J.os .\ngeles lh& whose writings appear in The :\laHtf'rll or the 1 Am religion can
notice ot a nr.w revelation It! no Post.lntelligencer are the opln· makP. thf'mtu!h·ell lnvl«ible. a knack
ll's!l 6thlclll thnn a routine ban:ain ions of the writer• and not 10 tl'mJ•t burgl;trR and ''lH~<IlY bnc·ks,
in boll!l-Cix JlOIHif'l's, angt'l do11n or necessarily those of The Post- nnd rlwm is Knill to bl' no limit to
yo~l'1 bath w n t,. .-. The taltbful lntelligencer. thf' Jttn!N'htl gift~ which thPY com-hungf't'
and dumor for hnm and mnnd, lnchHIInv monry. However,
egg11 but nt'VI'r elint lll(lit· holy men. said. "Is he new in the racket? :\Jr·. Rullnrd Willi no~ Invisible Jn
In Olevrhmd, whl'l'e I MkW him Make a note of him, Klein. He Clf'vrlnnd, unlt>.Hlt It bE> that I have
latf'IY, tho Great 1 Am, also ot Los may be 11omeone we would like to IH'COtHI night, ror I vow I Raw the
Angelea, hnd fotll' nPw, expensive know." Pt'OJlhl\t Jllal~tly. nr. Robinson gets
Cllrl for bhn•clr and lllnff, time on "But , u reI y you know the hiR without rf'courlle to sorcery and
the air and an Rrcbl~>11l!!COpal I!Uite Great 1 Am!" 1 wheedled. "He 111 proud, nol to aay a shade vulgar,
at the btMt hotel In Lown. The has access to a lake of gold on on the aubjt>ct ot hill cash receipts.
Grtat 1 Am "'1\1 just out calling on Mount Shasta, and this friend of A box cAr A tray bls writing says
the trade, for I..o11 Angeles Is his his, the a acre d Three Tlmea he w11s, 11 bl'~gar, and, It J may
aee.t and the Callfornill. mountains Three, recently destroyed a num. suJtge!lt a word, a bum, who workf'd
art the • c • n e or his OC<".a~ional ber of hostile aubmarinea, hither only ''•hE>n forcl'd to and that
conferencea with the Racred Three bound, with a aword of purple dom, until one day be atruck up 8
Time• Tbr•e. the Jt'Tellt ascended flame.'' conYersatlon with God. 'foday he
spirit!! and a militAnt. ~~tnseoull God· "I never heard of the guy," Mr. owns the lar,;r.st offi1·e building in
force ldenUfled as K-17. Flttl said. "He isn't a big shot.'' :\IO$tOII, I d a h o, has a beautiful
��� • • "He can't be a big shot," Mr. hnmf' with 11 magnificent piJie
:J.a I ncall his rouf~> the c;rr.at I Klein nodded. I:'Rn and dri\(~8 a Cadtllac
'Am. known In prii'Rte lire n.s G. \\', ).(r. Fitts and )lr. Klein arP. blue 1dn~>. 11bllr. his wife drhe> 8
Ballnrtl, "'ould still be on lhP. road. I about God men. Occasion!llly thP> nulrk 11nd his ~on a Jo'ord V-8. His
ao I didn't bothrr to rail but did bave to bust up a 'lork for-- the llttlr. girl Isn't old f'nmu:h to dri\'e
mention him to ;\tr. Buron Fill!!, ~ake ot the Jambs. htch I~ a fine hf'r own, but just you wait.
Dec . 4, t 93c/3y W ertbrook Pegler
Dr. Frank B. RobiJlson of :\loscow, Idaho, has been an our mJdst brietly and bas endeavored to set your
-eorrespondent right on some matters pertaining to
tho God buslnc~ which is enjoy­Ing
a boom at the present writ­ing.
Dr. Robinson, who answers
to the name ot Doc, ls the man
who advertises that he was a box­car
bum but ta.Jked with God
and speedJly acquired a. magnifi��cent
home with a pipe o1·gan, a
Cadillac limousine for himself,
other cars, diminuendo, for his
v.1fe and ,o;on, "a Jot ot life insur­ance"
and a bank account suffl·
clent to wtthsland the tap of a
check ln five figures. He charges
$20 per head for a corr~pondence course in his
copyrighted religious phU060phy, called Psychlana,
and sicks a collectton qency on deadbeats. back­sllders
and flunks Who try to &YP him o! his pay­ments.
But he a,sserts, not\llith!tandlng his r!se to
v;ealth and this firm insistence on his ownings, tha'
he does not'desire to make money out of Psychfana.
H1S attempt to set your correspondent right thus
leaves your correspondent's confusion worse con­founded,
but perhaps you can flgure It out.
The Doc, who has been adverttslni 1n a New York
paper of late, said he was doing ~ lot or business
here and expressed cUsbellef In seve1·al current com•
petitors 1n the God business, particularly G. W. Bal­lard
of Los Angeles, known as the Great I Am. Mr.
Ballard's Widely scattered believers labor under an
impression-which may be conect, tor all your cor­respondent
knows oo the contrary-that he Is the
reinc~na.tlon of George Washington, that his wife Is
the reincarnation of Joan of Arc and that a. gaseous
God-force known as K-17 recently destroyed a fleet
of hostile submarines somewhere off the American
shores with a sword o! Purple Flame. They also shun
ontons and garlic a.<> being offensive to the Ascender
Masters. The least implausible o! all their tenets,
some of which are rather trying, they abhor the color
red .for the evil \'ibration~ which it projects Into the
world but nevertheless vow allegiance to the Ameri­can
flag and wee.r the same, red stripes a,nd all, on
their lapels. .. •
Doe Robinson lillY!~ be d~n·t believe a word of
Mr. Ballard's revelations, in!isUng that t~ey are
agains~ reason, and adds that, anyway, he cant make
head nor taU of the I Am religion. He refers to vari­ous
of these new philosophies and faiths, 1ncludl.ng
his own, as "Stuff." That. Is to say. he speaks of
''My Stuff" and Ballard's "Stuff," Father Divine':.
"Stuff" and Dr. Edwin John Dingle's "Stuff," this
latter being something ca.lled Mental Physics, Inc., of
Los Angeles, Cal., of course. His skepticism toward
the others and h1s scot!lng certt\lnty that they are
fallacious reminded your correspondent or Old Doc
Townsend's 1·ecent contemptuous val'dlct, delivered 1\t
the height of the Ham-and-Eggs campaign !n Los
Angeles, that the thlrty-Thursdny proposition wa.s
economJca.lly unsound.
In speaking of his stuff, Doc Robinson's tone 1s
one of proprietary pride and jealousy, like that of a
radio comic With a prosperous, sure-!lro specialty who
is wary of pirates and poachers. He says Ba.llard
called on him when he, Ballard, "was just starting
out:·
"' told him I didn't mind," the Doc 51\YS,
so he doesn't infringe my copyright. I Just warned
him t~ keep off my stu!!."
• • •
Nevertheless, the Doc fru.lsts that Ballard's stuff
in par.ts is \'ery :;l.mllar to his sturr. e\'cn though he
can't make head nor tail o! Ballard's stu!!. ''I am not
mterested in saving S<luls," says be, "that Is orthodox.
I want to raise the mental and spiritual sights of
the people. And if I didn't copyright my stu!! I would
ha\'e every faker in the country u.'lng It, It would
be po

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DR. F . B . ROBINSON AT THE CONSOLE OF HIS PIPE ORGAN
Purcha~ Corner at Jackson
We~t Thirdj May 1\love
Bus mess
Psychlana. Inc., Moscow concern
se!Ung in.structlon in religion
through the mall, has purchased
!rom H. R. Short t.be property at
the corner of Jackson and West
Third streets. it was announced to­day
by Dr. F. B. Robinson, presi­dent.
The consideration was not an­nounced.
The lot includes about a
quarter of a block and a frame
structure which is being used at
present as a rooming house. It was
used by the Short undertaking
est.ablishment before the present
chapel was built on First street.
Dr. Robinson said Psychiana will
move into the buUding provided
the lease on the present location
in the Bratton building on East
Third street is sold. Some remod­elUng
will be necessary before th~
contemplated move is made. He
said the company will probably
buHd on the corner within the next
two years. -------
INSTALLS ORGAN
IN CITY RESIDENCE
Dr .. F. B. Robinson First
I nland Empire to Get
Instrument
The first residence pipe organ to
be installed in the Inland Emp!t·c
will be operating soon In the home
of Dr. Frank B. Robinson, l:t2 south
Howard street. It is built by the
French Organ company of Cincin­nati.
Dr. Robinson purcba<>ed the in­strument
for his own pleasure and
to use in connection \\lth has r..tdlO
broadcasts, which will be rcsu111ed
soon on a larger scale over c.1ast
stations by Psychlana Brotherhood,
of which Dr. Robinson is the found­er
and president.
Varied Tone
The instrument contains cir;ht
sets of pipes, and 1s equappcd wltll
54 couplers and stopkeys and 10
comoination pistons, giving the or­ganist
severa~ hundred diftcrt'n~
Lone and color combinations.
A sound-proof chaml.Jc~· to house
the organ proper hM been f)uilL Into
the basement of the resldeJH:c. and
another sound-proof 1·oom llou::;es
the motor and blowe1·. The motor
delivers a ten-inch wind pressure
to the instrument. l'lle Lone dueL
leads to a grill cut !nto Lhc floor or
the di:ting room. The console. or m·\­hogany,
is recessed inlo till' living
room wall and is of the th.·~"'· man-t.:
al and pedal type. .
Installing the instrumcn" !:; Bll­com
& Provorse. Soattle. '>'lto re­cently
installed the org~n 11\ lht'!
new Fox theatre of Spokane.
rsfcut\NA JttEcts932
OFFICERS FOR 1932
Report 10,000 Students En­rolled
for Correspondence
Course Here
Through advertising in magazines
and newspapers with circulations
totalling several millions. it was
reported at the ann~al stoekhold:
rs' meeting of Psych1ana, Inc .. hela
u the company's offices Thursda:,'
night that 10.000 active students
n 74 countries were now emolled
for correspondenc~ ('Ourses and thn~
,1e.. concern's busmess volume ha:;
real'llcd $250.000 annually.
Thl' present officers were re­elected
by unanimous vote. ThE>Y
are Dr. Frank B. Robinson, presi­dent."
Oscar M. Anderson. vice
president; Pearl B. Robinson. sec
retary-treasurer; George Bc~1son.
Elmer Anderson, and E. W. Phllllps
directors.
Volume Jumped
"Starting a year ago last. April
and~perating throug~ a pc~·1od _ot
depression.'' the prestdent t cpox L­ed
"our business volume has in­creased
so much that offices and
equipment have been enlarged
and the payroll increased to 10
people drawing salaries amou~tlng
to $20 000 per year. Over 3,000 plCCCS
of mail goes out from our o!flc
every day and this concern has be­come
the 1ar1~est patro~ of the
Moscow post.office. spendt!;lg about
a year for po~~ge.
Through an advertlSmg appropri­ation
placed for this :year at. $35,000,
1t was said that cxrculat10n has
been doubled within six months. A
new course, Dr. Robinson. sn!d, !S
enrolling students. !out· ~1mc~ _as
fast as the former mstructxon m 1 c­llgious
psychology.
ctor With New Idea Puts
tittle City on Map; World
Tums Eyes Toward Moscow
Or. Robinson in his now car which ho hal purohaaod to •n•'blo
h im to better move about awlftly In t.lo dally work.
The Inland Empire city of i\tos·j wh1ch M• b t w comes far nearer by the quarter mllJion
cow, Idaho, is rast winning nation· to tho u·u•ll lhnn the olu crel'ds l:n five ton lots.
a.1 and international fame, even and traditions thnt htnc been
more so than the city of a similar handed down from time lmme- PERSONAL MAIL.
name in far orr Russia. mori~l 'l'housnnds no\\ believe in IS H EAVY ONE
One man has made this possiblE", hb phiiOSOI>h>· Last year be purchaaed a quar·
Dr. Frank B. Robinson, rounder of Thero v.as a time a few rears ter block in Moscow and today tn
Payr.hiana, Inc., tho D(>W rell~ion ago "hen the doctor was working his home Is a pipe organ from
ba,;~>d upon natural Jaws and right )n a drug ston• In ;\loscow In order which be derives much pleasure.
ll\lng. to liUI>POrt his wife and family. He owns a fast car.
Dr. Robinson's teachings have One da>' brs dcllbC'ratlons seemed His personal mail hs so heavy
Teacbed so far and wide into the to havA renc:hPd a conclusion. He .that he is unable to pcrsonBIIY lllf>U
~·orld that now he has followers In went to his study and began to all the letters.
74 countries. The mail at tho :\los· write. Hour alter hour hP kept at The new work brought on the
cow post office has grown to thE' worl(, forgetting rood and sleep. is~uing or a monthly Mtlonnl ru~tg·
enormom portions, making It a After 36 houri! his wol'k wa.'l com- azme and the writing of thrc('
tint-class post office in the eyes of plctod. books wltich ba.ve had a phe·
the department at Washington. BUSIN ESS MEN nomena l sale. T hey a re "Anterlca
Burning desire to flnd a new HELPED HIM Awakening," "The God Nobody
answer to the secr~t of life _caused Tho now book. "PI:IYChlana," was Knows," and "Secret of Reallza.·
Dr. Robinson to brlnll." out h1s Idea. ! mmC'cllntPiy ~Pnt. 10 Washington tion." Thousands of metobl'r' arP
For vears be had stud1ed the Ques· tor r.opywrltln~. joining his bt·otherhood. Dr Robin·
tlon But tho tlocto1· hnd no funds ex- son lS a F ellow of the Am~>rirAn So
HUNTED FOR A cept his clrug slOrt' salary. Busi- clety for Psychl9l R~>tot'l!rch :utd R
NEW SECRET Dell!! men or th•l dty backed him, :J~:ber of the Amen can Ali!IOi'la·
Trained for the mmtstry, Dr. ralalng a fund or $2600 to start tbe ence for the Ad\ancement of Sci·
~oblnson did not believe thf' dor· work that. would carrr the nevr · · trin~>s taught him so be took up an Idea to the \\Orld. .\ pa~e of ad· SELL.S SHARES
indep.,ndent. sci.,n•ific and Bibllral verllaing WM purchasrd in a na· TO INVESTORS
TPIIP.!Irch with the resuH that hfl tiona! announc~ment. So great was He rece1v~!' more tel•~rllmf. than
formulatPd a philo"'ophy of Jlfp the respouso that within a rear Dr. any one man In th" Inland Empire
Robinson's teaehlngs were going and hls seniCOC"!I are In tr"•' de·
F;~::=;;=;:7;;?=ffiriffi6iiliiffii!f?~~ into 6i different nations and today mand for lectur .. ~y reach i4. h .. cannr or Pllllo5ophy
He r of Pt~ycholoo:,·.
fltore by clnv aud attend to the "A religion tha~ rachings caruo In by thou· must. aid in solving the nrohlrms or
1anda so lhat now he mu11t 1\eep the buman racp;• said nr. Hobin
rrom 10 to 15 )lcople steadil~ em- :n want flllc·
:ployecl In thr. mailing del)artment Cf'SS, materially, in happlnPt~K nod
atone. r~nv!'IOl)CR arc purchased h\ health. Prom!se11 of a llrr of
ease after death do not fulflll thE'
desire o.f mankind. PRyrhlnna's
teachings IU!sun' thro'o rnt'lfl."
In order to ful"tbar facllltato dill·
tribution of his teachinga, Dr.
R~blnson is issuing a. serlea of
: dl\"ldend11 t.wlco
yearly. An adverllsement tn t~ n­other
part of t.his l.ssue tells his
story.
GROWS fROM ONE WORKER TO 22
IN PERIOD Of ONlY fOUR YEARS
Moscow Revi ew Nov. ~~~·~1~9~3~3~----------------­New
Building on Third and Jack·
son Marks Four-Year Growth
of "Psychiana."
The announcement of construc­t
ion of a new one-story brick
building on "Psych1ann" property
a t Third and J ackson, taking the
place of the presen t building
which was formerly occupied by
Short's funeral home, brings to
mind the start of the Institution
four years ago.
Dr. Frank B. Robinson, trained
for the ministry but working in
a drug store as a reglatered phar­macist,
doubting theryday life.
Form Corporation.
Having no money for the spread
of this philosophy, he borrowed
smaJI amounts from :-\eel Phillips,
Geor~e Benson. Oscar Anderson.
and Elmer F. Anderson, now busi­ness
manager or the Robinson in­terests.
The small corporation
formed then paid 125 per cent
dividends In four ye!ll'll. Last sum­mer
Dr. Robinson bou~ht up at a
premium all the 11tock and dls­~>
OlYed the corporation.
After navlng the cour e printed,
there wa6 enough Cll!!h left to pay
!or one advertlsenwnt. which
brou~bt In $13,000 of bu,;lncss. In
one rear the cour~os wtre going
into 6'i countrle". Dr. Robinson,
when be started. wrote nil the ad­verli-
·ments, and ,till does l>O.
Worked at Night.
\\'ben the corporot!on started,
Dr. Robinl'on worked In the drug
st01'0 and mailed at nigh l. All di­rectors
or the Mrporation wol'lted
at night in tbe fi rst office. a litVle
rnOill 111 t h(' Prquhn1·t h IIIII!"~· It
soon ocrlnntr rt ce r hire r.
girl and then Dr. Robinson worked
'1\'ith 1t half-time. finally devoting
all his time to ''Psychiana."
Six months later "P,ychlana"
w11.s moved to the bulhllng now
occupied by the Queen City Prinr­hlg
company. and 11 year later the
(·orporation bought the quarteT
block which is tbe present prop­erty.
They were then employing
six work<>rs.
:Build New Office.
Xow with the building of the
new offiCP, over ·lOOO feet of floor
spare;:; of
printed Hterature Is sent out dally.
and one ton of paper I u e payroll of all lh" Robinson
Interests in Moscow Cap's Drug
Store, University J'> hn.r macy, Re­..,
·iew Publishing compnny, and
"Psychtana"-ls now nhout $-t0.-
000 11 year-, and an .1: .111al hu~!>OC l nrecl en­terprises
have often been caned
the largest comme1·ctal ns.d the owners of this !llliiOr to write
a brief statement of policies etc .. and spenkln~:" !or the ownen
I am happy to do this. The newspaper and printing plant of
Mr. lfarineau was purcha!ted from him primarily because the
pnnting bills of our other Interests w'lrr·,ntctl thf' own·n~ or
a complete printing plant. Last year many thou!;ands of
dollars were spent by us for printing, and the rnpld growth
of our other business Interests has made our own prlntin~
plant advisable.
The ownership of this pap!'r believes that there Is a need
tor a suitable perlodlcthtg its policies. Coming to Moscow
with the confidence nud respect of a host of people, under the
guidance of Mr. :'llnrlnenu, or "Blll'' as be h; commonly known,
we !'hall rest in assurance or a brilliant future for the paper.
We are here to fight no one. Our edllorlnl po11cy wlll be
peculiarly our own. \\'e ehall defend what we believe to be
right and shall (!enounce what we beUe\'t' to he wrontt. We
shall respect the opinions of others, at the same time having
opinions ourselves. In other words, while thb paper will
enter into no controversy with anyone, it will have a backbone
of its own, and will not hesitate to rearles.'!ly stand up tor th-e
rlght; nor will it hc!>ilale to ~tand up tor this community.
Moscow can have a wonderful future. 'l'he own!'Tship of this
paper has a campaign planned for this fall whereby Mo~cow
will probably be one of the best advertised. If lht> not the bes:.
advertised city in America. We ~hall ept'nd UOO.OOO doinu
this. With a united effort of the busine~s and agricultural
men, Moscow might easily be a city known for tt activitY
and business success throughout America.
~ow in conclusion, tb~ ownership wishes to personAlly thank
the business men of Moscow tor the amazing response in
advertising this first issue has received. We nrc not so much
Interested in your money as we nro in your good wlll, and if
this first issue isn't a demonstration ot goocl-wlll then we
have never seen one. We thank every one or you rt·nm tho
bottom of our benrts, and you can depend upon ll. thla advertis­Ing
will pay you many llmcH over. If yon hnvc news Items
you want pu bllshed, send ~It em in, and we will try to !nsert
them correctly. If you know of anything ym1 think will be a
benefit to our city-- let us know, we will fltand behind you,
for a prosperous. \lllltrd Moscow and I,atnh County.
syc tana nvttes ublic to
Inspect Its New Home
Nev.s-Review
March 9, 1934 March 12 to 17.
~~Psychiana" New
Philosophy of
Life.
"Psychlana" Is designed to en­able
men and women to go into
workill8' partnership with the
spiritual realm, thereby making
their Uvee happier, healthier, and
more successful. The teachings or
Dr. Robinson are based upon the
existence of a divine spiritual
power, which power Is the crea­tive
intelligence behind this uni­verse.
The movement started five
yeaT'6 ago and teaches a philoso­phy
of life which appears to be
logical, reasonable, and spiritual
In Its essence. This new philoso­PhY
did not spring Into existence
over night, It was the result of
many years of intensive thought
and research In the realm of reli­gious
philosophies. Dr. Robinson
teaches that a correct understand­Ing
of spiritual law Is all that is
necessary to t'llVe the human race
from Its ills, Its heartaches, Ita
discouragements and ita disap­pointments.
To him the existence
or the realm of God is the most
vital thing In the universe. Quite
naturally, "Psycblana," a new re­ligious
philosophy, is different. It
dlecards much of tradition and re­places
this with a vital Uving spir­itual
universe.
Expanded Rapidly.
At the beginning or. this move­ment
a very email office was
rented trom which to carry on the
Inalde of a few months,
quarters were made neces­by
the epread of the teaching.
Again larger quarters soon became
necessary, and two years ago a
quarter o! a block at the corner of
Third and Jackson streets in Mos­cow
was purchased and the .two­story
frame building on it wae oc­cupied.
The movement, however,
continued to grow, and at the
present time "Psycbiana" is occu­pying
its new home. The new
home adjoins the old frame build­Ing,
and bas about 4000 feet of
space.
Visitors Welcome.
During the week of March 12
to 17, "P.sychlana" Is commemo­rating
Ita fifth •birthday anniver-and
the opening of the new
home by cordially InViting the
public to visit them. Visiting
hours are from 9 a. m. to 12 noon,
DR. FRANK :B. ROBINSON Built With Local
Materials and
Labor.
The new home of "Psychlana"
Is a beautiful one-story brick
building facing Third street near
Jackson. The building Is the re­sult
of Moscow labor and local
products. Howard Baker. a Mos­cow
designer and bullder, bullt
the structure, using local materi­als
wherever possible. The brick
was furnished ·by the Moscow Fire
Brick company, a product made
In lloscow from local clay. The
lumber was furnished by Potlatch
Yards, Inc., and the Madison Lum­ber
and Mill company. The heat­Ing
and plumbing wae Installed
Frank B. Roblnl\On was born in by the C. M. W1lderman Heating
New York City 48 years ago. His adn Plumbing company, the elec­talher
was a Baptist minister and trlcal wiring by R. Oldenburg, the
moved with his fnmily to northern electrical fixtures by the Moscow
England several years later. In his Electrical company and the paint­teens
Frank left England for On- ing and paper hanging by the R.
tario,' Canada. Later. In Toronto, B. Ward Paint and Hardware
he put himself through a school or company. Samm's Furniture store
pharmacy and at 21 was a regis- furnished Dr. Robinson's private
tered pharmacist. While In Toron- office with a specially made El
to he attracted the attention or Dorado desk and chair to match,
Elmore Harrl&, preslclt>nt of Me- and a desk and chair for the sec­Master
university. Dr. Harris P.s-lr-----
slsted in a financial way, and retary. The floor ts .covered with
made It possible for RobinSOn to a beautiful Wilton rug from the
go through Mc)laster university same store. Creighton's furnished
and the Bible Training school. and hung the window trelved nl
the :Kews-Review from Dr. Frank
B. Robinson, expres!llng hi~ grati­tude
for the cooporatlou and
friendship of Moscow bnllinllel!:
".Mv dear Mr. ~1arlneau:
·'May I take this opportunity or
asking you to express to the mer­chants
of Moscow. through the
columns of the };'ew.s-ReYiew, my
heart-felt and deepest gratitude
and appreciation of the wonder­ful
friendly spirit sho\\n toward
me during the past wl!elt.
"\Vith very few exceptions,
everv business hOU!le In .MOSr ci·afts­cow,
hlaho. and folltH thr·l't' urc lhaa n spl'cd of J2fl ntlll•ll pl'r hour man11hlp, would put their dollars
t·oUing on tho highway of Industry,
toolullrrly IHIIHI woulrl lw }UIPJIY· ll's ('l'aflsman­glvNI
It lhl' dli!Unl'\ion of hc-lng !ht mull" E'VCtJ to thA l'llOlC'II'. 1l lA tho 11hip p~l(l !Ol' with honi'Rl dollars
town th11l lws the f»Ht••st. moHt only orv' of lt.'l l~·po in I hi' rntJro I that. mHkcA gond tlml'll."
pnw~'•·rul mvl mo11t I'X(H'mHvn r•ar unrthwe11t. Dr. Hoblnann tuvl hiR ~laff 1'1"
In the r?ntir,., northwe.:t "It may l!CPm llkt~ c., tJ·avnJ:nnc" I'P.ntly moved Into •• U""' hrlck n··· Robllll!"ll h:tS JURI ;v•r•ppfcd to rurrha~" 1'11. The trouble with U1i11 43 employees. l:'i of which were
It was orcterf'd by D•·· Robin~;on country now is that there have taken from the Northwe11tem Busl­la.
st apt1ng. It l.'t powercl1 with n ~en too many money-snvcra. llf'~'l college In Spokane. Recordi!
320·h(lrllcpower moto•· and is o! "We have hat! .!IO much chiseling from the posto!ficc at Moscow
the regular racing type who COULD spend tenRive bUJ•Iness of Dr. Robinson.
Ma r-e-h f-4,--1 934
A .$16,000 DUC$f 100 miles an
In 60 3econd~t. It holds a speed
ord of 156 mlle.~ nn hour. The
lubrication Is entirely automatic.
Due.senberg WM the first Am<>rican
car with four-wheel brakes, and wM
the fir~~ 11tralght eight.."
April 26,
AHO'S PROPHET OF NEW GOSPEL
GOES FAR IN BRIEF FIVE YEARS
l~'s a world or ast1·ononucal [ig­urcs,
of thouliands and hund1·eds o[
thous:~.ndtr, which Frank J. Rob!n­tiOJl,
founder and proprietor o!
Pt;ychlnna, Inhabits. His auto­mobiles
tra,·el t" o miles a. minute;
his plve Ol'f:1ltl 111 one of the !!nest
In th~ world; his tra \'Cis arc in
thou!'llnd!l or miles: his readers and
hill disciples have by their maU
mudn Moscow a flr::.l class post-otclcc.
'l'hls twophcl or a new gospel­tho
goiiJlOI or tho will to power­lltOJ)
llcd ott In Bolso Tuesday night
und Wodncaday morning on a fly­Ing
trip, bringing with him an at­traction
whlcl1 pl'ovcd moro potent
to cu1·1ous Uolsenns than the phy­lllcn.
l presence ot the master-- a
$1G,OOO Duesenbcrg custom-built
Lports roadster.
Tho fabulous automobile has a.
tOJ> ~;peed of 130 miles an hour
thcro!oro resigned his
job, pcrCected his phlloaophy,
wlih t.ho flnanc1111 backing of a
am1111 gt·otlp or Mo11cow men put
his !den. on tho market.
..-orld. He bas the rntmnerlsms of
the sueeeS>'ful super-!'&lesman: tho
easy. una!fected bearing oC tho In·
dh'idual at home In any company;
and lh& not surprlsina; wonder and
pride In his on·n achievements
which, far !rom being orrensh·e,
seems the natural concomitant of
All 11. rc11ult his system, he says,
11 .w !11 sold In 07 countl'ies. His
monthly postal bill at Moscow Is
$6000, or UOO a day. He speaks
to clubs, to lodges, to luncheon
grouptr, all over the countrY.
•·aut I never make an add~ess ex­cept
on rt'que!eded lO revive a spiritual­ly
dead world, and on that faith I
have proceeded. And I have a
~oa l-to make my philosophy the
means of help to everyone in the
world who Is willing to try it."
Dr. Robinson Is of medium
hel,ht, sturdily built, with a
:smooth, unwrinkled face, deep-set
bluo nyes, n pleaeant smile and an
nll8ured voice. He confesses to 50
year11; nnd looks 40. His conversa­tion
Ia not. that of the evangelist or
IMpirt>d prophet but the enter­taining,
~;u.lty talk ot a. man of the
k-B~R~blnson,
{Idaho) psychologist and
founder of Psycblana, who l\IU
pre~nt the first of a series of pipe
organ recitals Sunda~· night from
8 :SO until 9 o,·er radio ~tat! on
I\ GA. Or. Robinson himself "ill
be at the con.;ole.
Old .. acred melodies will be fcn­tured
e' clush·et.r on the program.'\,
'' hlch will be continued through
thc ''Inter ou KGA at the "a me
hour each Sunday.
[daho Writer Declares Dic­tator
Ruination of
Nation
H~· .\. C. liOLLOWA k'
Seized at one stage ot his jour­ney
by Itllhan :ooldacrs. spaed upon
by Premaer Mussollni's polic town almost ovl'r night.
The father of "psychlana" I~
an accomplished musician and
has a large pipe organ In his
study at home.
In addition he owns his own
newspaper at Moscow, a complctr
printing plant, bindery, photo
engraving department and clec­u
·otype establishment.
He is a member or the Ameri­can
Association for the Advance­ment
of Science and a fellow or
the American Society for Psychi­cal
Research.
S'fAR1'f.:D AS " .. '~~.-u.
Besides the newspapers and
magazines throughout America
t hat usc Dr. Robinson's articles,
every newspaper in Great Britain
I$ now t·unning his material.
Dr. Robinson is recognized as
one of the world's best posted
and most brilliant psychologists.
rn his series of radio programs
which were electrically tran­scribed
by the San
studios of MacGregor and
Dr. Robinson engaged the serv­ices
of one of the foremost pro­ducers
in radio today to direct his
productions. That man was John
Eugene Hasty. Dr. Robinson~s
magnetic personality, plus hJS
abilitv to be entertaining on any
subj~t so many know so little
about, has resulted in his radio
prognms being extremely inter­esting
and engaging.
Dr. Robinson was educated at
the University of Toronto, Can­a
da. He started his career as a
drug clerk in a small pharmacy
In Moscow, Ida.h,o.
]()J~AS WON FAME.
He was an intellectual type
and drug clerking didn't fit him
at all. He read and studied at
every spare moment. he,
evolved on the idea of
chlana." Soon his writings
being printed in the
Later the magazines
for them. His brilliant outlooK
on life and intelligent so:lut1or~:
of many of life's problems which:
he unfolded in rare literary style
Jn those periodicals achieved Cor.
him a rapidly growing audience
and fame.
Radio is now adding to that
fame.
Dr. Robinson's Psychiana pro­gram
is only one of scores of
.features being tumed out by tho
MacGregor and Sollie Studios for
stations throughout the
R.nd for its own affiliated
in the United States.
The western stations as:soc:ia1led
with t his MacGregor and
Broadcasting System chain
elude:
JUEM, Eureka, Calif.;
E ugen<>, Ore.; KTFI, Twin
Idaho; KLZ, Denver, Colo.;
Klamath Falls, Ore.;
per, Wyoming; KGDM, st,ocltton.
Calif.; KID, Idaho Falls,
Pueblo, Colo.
NEW BUILDING
PLANS MADE
News Revi.&1;.. ~ 31, 1935
\York \Vill Start on
Ne\v Structure in
£\ear Future.
A new Lwo-story brick build­in~!.
modern in C'\'CQ' re~pcct. wi 1
under construction on the cor­ncr
of Third and Jackson JUSt , <
soon as the pre::;cnt wooden struc­lure
is removed. Dr. Frank n.
Robinson stated Wednesday.
The building will be known .-s
the Robinson Professional build­ing.
The lower floor \\'ill have t\\O
large suites ::mel the
suite.
floor will consist o! scvts. The build in.., will be occupied exclush dy by
professional men. and will be of most modern construction.
Special brick art.> being made and imported, and the color :.;chemc
of the buildmg ts tan. An up-to-date hot watc1· hcatin~ system
with automatic control in every suite will be installed, enabling the
tenants to set the temperature in their own quarters regardless o£
the temperature in the adjoining suites.
No accommodations are a\·ailable in this building as all :;paec
has lx·cn lea~ed for long terms. Il w1ll be completed early in
December.
JURY
INDICTS
DR. ROBINSON
Charge of Making
False Statement
Preferred by U.S.
News-Reviev1 February 13, 1.-36
Charged with making· a fah;e statement
in an application for a passport, Dr. Frank
B. Robinson of Moscow was indicted by the
federal grand jury now in session in Boise.
The passport was obtained by Dr. Robin­son
before making a trip to Europe in 1934.
Dr. Robinson declined to comment, except
to say that the indictment was not entirely
unexpected and that any statements would
be made "at the proper time."
Bond was set at $1250 which was posted
by two Moscow business men.
The hearing will be held in Moscow before
ederal Judge Charles C. Cavanah during
the May term of court.
address was scheduled to begin, and the police were called
to dispell the crowds which insisted upon gaining admis­sion.
This has been duplicated everywhere I have ever been
and as I see this marvelous reaction, it impresses me with
a sacred sense of my duty, for truly the responsibility is
very heavy. Yet, I feel the vision is true and wl1erever a
true vision exists, you may depend upon it that it exists in
the mind of someone perfectly qualified to bring the vision
out of the Realm of God and into the Realm of r eality.
Quite natura1ly, orthodox religious organizations heap
curses upon my head, for they cannot conceive of anyone
having any of the truths of God who teaches an entirely
different philosophy from the one they teach and I am
sorry to say that many very dirty attempts have been made
by ministers who profess to know God, and I am also
happy to say that these attempts to upset this Movement
have never been and never will be successful.
PEOPLE today want the truth of God if that truth can
be known. They are sick and tired of heathen and
pagan tradition foisted off on an unsuspecting public by
preachers and priests as the truths of God. Considerable
consternati<>n has been aroused by one of my books,
Crucified Gods Galore, which book is having a very wonder­ful
sale as, in fact, are the rest of the books.
Our Magazine circulation jumps up on an average of ten
new subscriptions every day and I imagine, off hand, that
if we include regularly enrolled students, magazine sub·
scribers, Brotherhood members and those who have bought
our books, the total will be pretty close to the half million
mark.
This has been a lonesome fight and still will be. It has
been a hard fight, for just as soon as my program's break
on the radio, the different ministerial associations who are
very much afraid of me and this teaching, imm.ediately
put in a protest, and some station operators seem to have
the mistaken idea that those who believe in the story given
to us by orthodox theology constitute the majority of the
people. However, they are badly mistaken and our attor-neys
are now laying the ground work to go into the federal
courts and decide whether any radio station has the right
to permit one religious philosophy on the air and forbid
another one. I do not believe that any radio station is
qual ified to pass upon the merits of any religious teaching.
Of course, this doesn't upset me too much, because I know
the mind and pulse of thinking Americans today and I
know that old pagan beliefs and superstitions are not satis­fying
these thinking people today and they are discarding
them just as fast as they possibly can.
This world had better get a new vision of God and the
church had better present one, for if ever it was needed, it
is needed today. However, in spite of all opposition and
in spite of my plain speaking and writing, we continue to
grow and the answer to our success may be found in the
fact that the new vision of God we· are giving to the world
is a vision that has long been needed, and a vision which
can actually he proven to be true. We do not profess to
know all of the truths of God, by any ~er of means,
but we do try to be true to the vision we have received and
we use ourselves as a channel through which the inspira­tions
of the Realm of God as we receive them can be
humbly and simply transmitted to others.
I DO not like to talk about myself. The only thing I will
say is that I derive much relaxation and pleasure from
a beautiful pipe 01·gan in my home, and as the days get
busier and busier, I spend more and more time in relaxa­tion
at the console of this beautiful instrument.
I notice that your magazine is called [11.$piration, and if
I were asked for a message to your readers, I would say to
them that all inspiration comes from the greatest Realm
of the Spirit of God, and if the inspiration be f ollowed, no
matter what form it takes, your readers.may be sure that
such inspiration will sooner or later lead them to the real­ization
of their oneness with the spirit of eternal life, and
knowing this Spirit and knowing its power, your readers
will find that the rest of life's problems will answer them­selves.
DR. F.wi. itoiiNsoN TO SEND
POSTCARD HE RECEIVED HERE FROM BRUNO
• NEW YORK, Jan. 10. (UP) A sample of Bruno Richard
Hauptmann's handwriting is being rushed by airmail from Moscow,
Idaho, to be placed before the New Jersey court of pardons which
begins consideration of the convicted Lindbergh kidnapper's at
Trenton tomorrow.
Dr. Frank B. Robinson, of Moscow, told the United Press he
wired Governor Harold G. Hoffman from his hotel here today
that he had a post card which Hauptmann had written since his
conviction last spring.
A secretary of the governor telephoned Robinson that the gov­ernor
was exceedingly anxious to obtain samples of Hauptmann's
handwriting written in ordinary correspondence and asked if the
card could be produced by Wednesday. Robinson assured that i
could be in the governor's hands Monday and wired to Moscow
for it to be sent immediately.
Robinson, founder of a new teaching called "Psychiana," said
Hauptmann wrote him from the Flemjngton, N. J., jail about a
month after his conviction concerning the new philosophy. He sen
Hauptmann the full course of the teaching.
"I don't know whether the card
will help Hauptmann or hinder
him," Robinson said. "I have it
and if Governor Hoffman and the
court of pardons want to look at
them to compare the handwriting
with evidence already submitted,
I'm glad to furnish it."
Governor Harold G. Hoffman of
New Jersey has asked Dr. Frank B.
Robinson of 1\loscow for the post
card which Bruno Richard Haupt­mann,
convicted s\l:yer of tht>
Lindbergh baby, purportedly sent
to J\loscow while in the Fleming­ton
jaU.
The handwriting on the post
card will be shown the board of
pardons when U meets to give
final consideratlan to ~he Ger­man's
fate.
The post card ~ssertedly was
written bY Hauptmami while he
was in jail. It sa:vs: "Dr. please send
me the of God. Obriciat
Jan. 10-With no
this wee~ the high school
ball boy/ are looking for­to
two conference games next
when they go to Culdesac and
Lapwai here.
ey go to Culdesac on January
while the home game witb
is set for ,January 17. This
a doubleheader the girl£
Unusually mild weather is enabling soil conservation engineers
and CCC members to make rapid progress on the project. three and
one-hall miles Irom Moscow, where a dam is being built and a lake
created.
The project aims at the double objective of conserving the water
resources of the district and creating a site for a proposed recreation­al
center.
Building or the project was made possible by Dr. Frank B. Robin­son
who bought approximately 60 acres of land from the Federal
Land bank oi Spokane to donate to Latah county and meet require­ments
of the soil conservation bureau, which insisted the land be
publicly owned and controlled.
In appreciation, Latah county commissioners named the place
Robinson Park.
"Woodman, .spare that tree!" upper lt!ft shows D1-. Frank B. Robin­son
initiating the job by starting to feU the first tree near where the
dam IS to be built.
Upper 1·igbt: the land which will be flooded when the dam is built
and a 12-acre lake created. The spot is ideal for a recreation centc1·
with considerable surrounding timber. Lower le fanatic:ll
and pagan teaching~ arc being discarded by
tens and hundreds of thousan.l~. many of
whom hold rncmbcr~hip in so-called Chri~­tian
cburche".
Such superstitions as these may have
been all right in a pagiln and superstitious
age which originated them, but they
no place in the heart~ and live"' of thin
Americans today, and 1 am h:aPI•Y to in­form
you, in rr.
Robinson, "were found by me." Again,
"A new and staggermg idea of Truth is
being given to the world through Psy­chiana,"
which offers "some of the most
startling revelations given to mankind since
the beginning of time." Yet it contain~
nothing whatsoever tltat is new but is
merely another of the old, old echoc:.s of
the ancient lie with which Satan deceived
Eve in the Garden of Eden: "Yc shall he
as gods" (Gen. 3: s). The same fat-e
philosophy has been popular through thl
summer, from which he returned on an
immigration visa. Doc Robinson is
n·ntly awaiting naturali?.ation papers.
POWERFUL COPY
BUILDS CULT OF
'MAIL MESSIAH'
Psychiana's Money- Back
Offer Gets 'Em
UY \ \"ILLI A.U P . GR AY. J R .
~!oscow, Idaho, June 22.- Dr.
Frank Bruce Robinson, founder ot
··Psychlana," the world's on 1 y
"money-back-guaranteed mail-order
l'ellgton," today counted another
milestone In the development of an
advertising program which has
stamped him as probably the most
unorthodox-and one of the most
successful-advertisers in the world.
Now Solicit His Copy
Newspapers have begun to solicit
his copy ror the first time in the
10 years of "Psycblaua's" existence,
and one network of 25 stations is
among the radio outlets now pre·
sentlng bls programs regularly, he
"MAN CAN NOW
TALK WITH GOD"
Robinson
boldface headline announced:
"MAN CAN NOW TALK WlTll
GOD."
The rest of the copy includes tho
frank statement that "Jesus had
NO MONOPOLY" on the power be·
bind "His so-called 'mit•acles','' but
that this same power "can be used
by anyone-AT ANY HOUJt 0 1ieces of "Psychiana" lltt>rature in
1937.
He quick!>· admits he has wasted
considerable money t'xperhnenting
with advertising, but he claims to
sell courses to 15 per cent or those
who reply to the first advertisement
and this, ht> says. Is an easy
world reco•·d. He USE'S nine follow­UJ>
S in direct mall camJ>aigns. the
first six a werk apart. the last tht·ee
30 tlays apart. The vast majority
or enrollments are received on the
first follow-up. He uses two colors
on mailing pieces. thinks color is a
waste in newspapers and magazines,
and finds It unprofitable to spend
more than 50 ct>nts pe1· reply £o•·
advertising.
Dubbed "Mall-order Messiah" and
sometimes compared to P. T. Bar·
num, Dr. Robinson wonies little
about criticism. but comlnues to re­gard
himself as a rare combination
of business executive. religious lead·
er. and advertising man.
(And you might be interested in
knowing that when he decided to
get a new Y was "mechanica11y Imperfect,"
"contained no advertising message
at all" or that it was "the crudest
piece of advertising e'•er written."
Among other things, the coupon was
aL the top left. He placed the copy
ror himself, and. it drew 2.852 re­plies.
Among those replying was one
Geoft'rey Peel Birley an English cot­ton
Importer at Alexandria, Egypt,
who sent his picture. In a dream
that night, Robinson thought he
saw Birley making mystic motions
ove1· a corpse. explaining. "This Is
Psycblana, the power that will
bring new life to a spiritually dead
world."
The next day, D1·. Robinson says
-and be admits the story makes
)Hn1 sound "nuts"-be adopted the
'~tame "Psychiana" and wrote Bir­ley,
"You are to be associated with
me In this business. Please send
$40,000." Two weeks later, a Spo·
kane bank telephoned him that
$20,000 had arrived, and $20,000
more was due the next week. Sub­sequently
he borrowed another $35,·
000 from Birley, and is stUl paying
tt ba.ck.
The development o~ "Psycblana"
from that point on has been largely
a process of advertising and pro­motion,
In the course of which the
Federal Trade Commission has
more than once investigated and ap­proved
the Robinson ntall·order re-llgfon
and its "mighty, nevet·-fail­ing
power."
Three agencies have handled the­"
Psycbiana" account, their princi­pal
task being the buying of space.
For the past five years, the Izzard
Company, Seattle, has been the
agency. It recently produced a se­ries
ot 14 transcribed radio pro­grams,
"!d i5,000,000
pieces of "Psyclliana" litE>ralure in
1937.
He Quickly admits he has wasted
consldemble money rimenting
with advertising, but he claims to
sell courses to 15 per cent or those
who rcJ)Iy to the first advert1sement
-and this, he says, Is an easy
wot•ld l't'k apart. the last three
30 days apart. The vast majority
of enrollments are received on the
first ronow-up. He uses l wo colors
on mailing pieces. thinks w Inst:tute, Dr. C. M.
Drury. past.:>r of the Presbyteri:~.t
chutch here, and Wayne Stmt:l
of the department of education
the unlversity.
Conft>rs Jn Washington,
Dr. Rob:nson also had a
conference in \\rashington, D.
recently with Dr. Carl D. Wells
\~ho spent three y~ars as dir('c­~
or of the Instilute prior to Rev­
students who care to study them.
The institUtiOn has had pretty
sa1Ung llnancialiy since fts
nception and the manag(ment
been unable to secure an en ..
for it. I am given to
that its treasury is
now almost depleted and unles:;
funds can be raised immediately,
Uti.; insWution will. in all prob­ability,
be clor.cd.
"Now, l hal'C undertakep io cir·
cularize my students and friend~
throughout the world and Jay the
muf.er before them. As you Jmow,
there arc mnny things connected
with orthodox theology \l-ith which
I do not see eye to eye, yet I
h:lvc c:c:tSistently suppcrteu :my­fWng
\\:hic~t might help anyone to
il happier- anll bctt»r life. I •hink
the Idaho Institute of c:uislittn
will eo just .PX2.~th
care to,
mct if they h:l\'e a fe .v dollar"
they can spare. I would like them
to send a check. postoffice order.
or ca:.h registered mail. to Mr
Charles Flatt. treasurer o! the Ida­ho
Institute of Christian Educa­tion,
Mos-cow. Idaho. Please do
not send yom· che;:ks or
order:; to me.
Bre to
keep the Idaho Inr-~'ute of
Christian EducalJOil intact. "It
mighty fine t.hing for Dr.
to do and we certainly ap
predate his efforts to help
in this very worth-while cause,"
Ot·. Tenney said.
Dr. Robinson said he expected
to mail out 250,000 letters in con­llycMaoo employs sixty
persons, who are kept busy furn­ishing
the world with the details
of the Doctor's philosophy. It is
located in a beautiful ten thou-sand
dollar building, with another
forty thousand dollar one in proc­e...
c:s of construction. Mo!'cow, seat
of the University of Idaho, was
a second-class post office when
Doctor Robinson settled there. It
has jumped to first clns!', Psy­chiaoo
having sent out more and
more mail-SH,8:i2.G3 worth lnst
year. On a typical dny recently
Doctor Robinson dictntecl into a
battery of dictaphones ::\Si letters
in reply to personal inquiries.
Doctor Robinson, who now lh·es
in a beautiful home containing an
800-pipe Wurlitzer organ, upon
which he frequently plays his fa.
vorite ·Brnhms, hns made his life
into a story of work nnd achieve­ment
by helping olhcrs to find n
way to a better life. In a recent
visit to the' ""bite House, the
President of the United States re­marked
to this former drugstore
clerk, "Doc, you and I are trying
to do the same thing: make people
think." It is by mnkinr: others
think that the influential men of
this age have made their
thoughts really effective.
'\'fO t hu 1 os A ngelcs &ocond Trust
.1nd ::O.a\'ings Bank strode ~ tall,
hu-..ky Hngli!;hman with a prairie·
land acct·nt. He walked up to the
c:'blner, a man he had ne'er "et'n ueforc.
thi~ betng the first lime he had ever
t ntcretl the bank, and said :
"Hl'IIO, I wnnt to borr(lw 1,500
Iars (£300 , and if }OU'II
out a ,not •. I 'll sign it."
nMn s vo,ce "a' so con­forc<>
fnl, that the cash·
lmlr did .so. Taking the
the I· ngh,Jnnan "tartcd
\'(l the uank, then
..rotmcl and said
cashier : "Do you
who I am ?'' The
jerked into ac­realiSed
that the
to whom he bad jllSt paid £300 was a
cu•up • ..,v~stranger to him, grabbed him say­inll'
:''No, I don•t •.. "
1 he En~:lishman \\:IS I· rank H. I-tage
stamp I
Rob1nson
credits !11s
success to
hiS d i S•
covery of
the powt·r of
God. He
walked into Frank B. that b.111k to
R b
. pro\'e 1t ...
0 tnSOn but Stl'3ngcr
things th.1n
th.Lt l.a\'e happeniclmcss to a n1ptured appcnd;x.
promlSL-d another .£-i.OOO the iollow- lh-re 1S a let tcr I took at rnndmn
JO!e w~ck. So "Psy._hiana," as Robin,;;on Frank B. Hobinson's files ~-
called hi:! tc..oachinl{s, was lK•rn. )lr. S1l>ll'y, Twcnty-~ i ne Paint'inson adulit:; tbat the my wife whom the doctors had lfiven two
story " make' me sound nuts," b ut it's weeks to live. I brought her out to die
t rue. While the good people of ':lfoscow get well. We have found God and abe
pointed to hill\ ancl Mid " He's crazy !" getting well ... "
Crazy a~ it all soundeU.. Robinson A ·
definitely .. hnd something." From all mazmg Recovery
corne~ of the earlll people wrote to the L E'fTEHS lake that arrive at e-ve-ry
man who clanned that an}' man could post. Some U1anking hun . other~
have par ltv ''ith Cod. asking for hclp. Somt- evl·n "lh' fur help
- There is theca~ on record ~·fa ~t-10 York Health, Wealth, Happiness follower "lao "ired Robinson nt noon cau$ed the day askmg for help for a fnenil " hum
• mall to\\ n of .Moscow to leap to dc.ctors fcan·d was dying. TI1 ·n U•e
r:·o .lincncc. The former failure \r.lS now follOWl:l' calmly told the patient',
employing dOlCllS of people, spending that she "ould be better the nc~1
£3,000 a year on postage stamps alone, She had appemlic1tts but m::de n arn
riding around in an hundred-mile-an-hour recovry ��..
car, li'\'inl." in a beautiful hOu$e with At first Robinson charged lour
his '"'" · •ght hundred pipe organ. As for his course ; thousands willingly paid it.
Robinson sits at this organ in the evening Although be procured for hinueU the
and plays, usually Brahms, he muses over luxuri~ of life he long lacked. Bobi1110n
his success. poured the profits back into the bunnua &o
.\s C\'er) tlung used once to go wrong. promulgate his teachings.
now c\'erytlung goes right-since he Jay ~o" he has made n lx>lrl move lie
down beneath that tree. He owns a drug- offer .. Ius course free. Students are mert'l ·
store, instead of wc.rking in one; a printing a~kt'eU for a
moment at the drab. inconsp1cu ou~ small
tO\\ n of ~Io:;cow, buritxl in the fc1 t ilc black
soil of Idaho, Xorth·westcrn fanning
~tate. He was brokio diftcrent from any B. Rohi .
ica an Englishman has paper of its t:rf>t". yet it
transplanted himself. ~\~~ ~~: ~~~~:\~~~;.Ia·
Robinson found a
poorly paid job in a
drug:· :;tore- then he
found God. Lying on the
His is one of the most But that's the way
fantastic success stories things happen to Robin-son.
And the people
of the century. . . , who once thought him
••••••••••--••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• .. cra1.y • ., nO\\' th.ank
grass, under a tree, he declares. the l' '" cr of
God came to him. He had strctch think. '
To-day Robinson's 600,000 students in
sixty-seven countries claim thai be has
brougb~ them to understand God, helped
them find health, wealth, happiness.
She's Getting Well
T O try to undcr:>tand their \'ie"-point, I
read some of " Doc " Robinson's
teaclungs. In a small fiat off the Strand I
lay quiet, a..insoo dreamed
he saw the cotton man
standing O\'er a corp..c,
saying : ·• This is Psychi·
Ana, the power that will
life t~ a spiritu-
NEXT day the drut;·
store derk, to whom
nothing \\as now an im·
pos~1bility, calmly wrote
to the cotton man : " You
arc to be associated with
m~in thishu-·n • Please
DR. FRANK B. ROBINSON
Could "correct" Hitler.
Creator of Faith
Says 'It's McCoy'
Looking like the businessman
he is, Dr. Frank B. Robinson,
creator of the mail-order religion,
Psychiana, arrived in Washington
yesterday. registered at the May·
flower, and announced:
"This Is no racket. This is the
real McCoy."
Robinson isn't In town on re·
llgious matters . .ric's here to get
the RFC to help finance half the
cost of a hospital in his home
town of Moscow. Idaho. But he'll
talk about his religion.
For years a drug clerk, he bor·
rowed $500 10 years ago and in·
serted an advertisement in a maga­zine
announcinll he had found a
new religion and had "talked to
God.''
Robinson claims to have 8,000
students in Washington alone. and
added last night that "When you
print a story about me. this place
w111 be besieged. But I'll be out of
town by then."
Robinson talks like that all the
time, but he doesn't sound con·
eel ted. He says he merely is " put­ting
it to you straight, the way
lt is."
Psychiana, :Mail-Order Faith,
Gives :Moscow, Idaho, a Boom
There arc only 1,500 J)('()ple in :\Ioscow,
Idaho, hut it has one of the busiest post
olliccs in the slate. Into its mail chutes
lust weck poured a tor•·enl of outward­bound
lt'llcrs, addressed to no 1..-ss than
700,000 prr·sons in ()7 countries. All carried
an iderrliculmessage: "Visualize the picture
of Adolf Hitler and repeal eamcstly and
forcefully, 'The spirit or God will bring
~·our clownfall'." All bore the signature of
Dr. Frank 13. Robin!'on, creator of a mail­order
rcli~ion calil'd Psychiana.
Frank Robin~on-big, huslling, and
ftashilv drt>sst>d-is a 5 ~-year-old En~li~h­man
~-ho cnmc to America in his 'lt•«:ns,
studied bricOy for the Baptist mini~>try,
and finally d.ccidcd the Christian gospel
was '·neith..-r ori~oinal nor true." He look lo
the road, drug-clerking his way to Los
Angeles. Portland, Ore., Yakima, Wash.,
and :Moscow.
One night eleven years ago, in his
furnished room uhove a lVIoscow dr·ngslore,
Robinson's f..-rLile bruin ga.ve birth to the
idea that developed into Psychiann. He told
himself lhal all cr·ecds, dogrnns, and organ­ized
religions w«:re needless, that h..-aven
could be reached here and now, thnt men
could work miracles i£ only they listened
for orders from God and ran their lives
accordingly, and that he was the one to
show them how to do it.
It was the end of what Robinson now
calls "43 years or horrible, sickening, dis­mal
failure." lie borrowed $1,500 nnd
hought space in a pulp mugazine, ndverlis­ing
a series of le~ ons in Psychiana for $!JO.
The first ad brought in $30,000. Within a
~·car Robinson and his American wife,
working nights in tl1e furnished room, were
poundin~ out le ons for 12.000 students.
They built a plant to print Lllrir own
literature m1cl hranclled out fir:.t with :\
weekly. then with The :Moscow Daily
News-Review. They built drugstores, ~~
Psyclliana heudquarl(·rs, ami an oll'icc
building. 'l'hcy gtwc Moscow a park anti
offered a library lo the neighboring Uni­versity
of Idaho.
Psychinna's staff of !35, headed by o.
former l\Iethodist college president named
C. W. Tenney, now turns out 1,600,000
pieces of mail a year. It advertises through
eighteen radio stations, 400 newspapers,
and 50 magazines. Recently Robinson and
Tenney took their first "tep on the road to
organizing a church: they offered a doctor
of divinity "degree" in exchnnge for two
years' study, two book reviews, a thesis,
and $150.
The advertising barps on one prime
theme. Robinson describes his happy
family (wife, son, and daughter), his ex­pensive
car, his well-tailored clothes, his
mansion full of rich furniture and thick
carpets, and the SOQ-pipc organ l1c plays to
record background music for his broad­casts.
He says, in effect: "See what Psychi­ana
has done for me!" And he claims it has
worked for others: he hns 150,000 letters
from satisfied students, crediting P ychiana
with cures for heart di~ease. asthma, paraly­sjs,
ruptured appendi~c , dipsomania, tum­ors,
sadness, unemplo~·menl, and poverty.
But despite his personal opulence, Robin­son
declares he gets only a aps and botwds and now
number 750,000 in the linited States
and 67 other countries. "Psychiana''
lill'ratu1·e (including a weekly, a
quarterly and "lessons" for students,
which are sold at $20 a series) is
pl'inf('(l in 17 languages.
To handle this literature, the Do a file of testimonials from people
who say they have talked to God; they
now have so many - 150 000- that
lhc)·'re thr?wing the new ~nes away.
Doc Robmson told us he's 56 years
old and that he was born in Henley­in-
Arden, England- same place as
Shakespeare. His father is a Baptist
preacher there yet. The Doc bimselr
Robmson Explttin~J Hoa It's Done
graduated from the Baptist Theologi­cal
Scminnr) at Toronto, Can , but
ne,·er preached the Baptist faith.
"Didn't b that he mnde himself rich by
scJli ng ''Psychinna" lessons. "~fatter
or fact," he snid before he left us,
''Psychiann" is $110,000 in debt to me."
Enough
il
Nov . 151 1939 New Religion
Makes Debut
In Los Angeles
'----------By Westbrook Pegler·---------
Los A:\GF.I.l•:S, !\O\', H.- '!'here the district attornt>Y. and wa;; . ur· comroentRQ' on rclldou~ freedom,
appeared In I.os An~:("lt'~ on r•rlsed to learn that thi11 weiJ.In· but that's lbP "ay It ,lloes, neYer·
Election Day, ,..hrn the queeries formed locat official. whosP detec- theless. 1 altem}ltt>d no compari­ot
the to11·n 11·ere in their most th·e bureau combines thP best ele- son bet\\ ecn tbf! Great I Am faith
auscepUble mood, a page ad\'f'rli~e- ments or the Gestar>o and the Jo'. B. and Ps,chianl\ beyond an obsern­ment
or 1,20(1 words by Dr. l>'rank I .. never had heard ol his eminent tJon that the Prophet Ballard ne\'er
B. Robln11on or Mosoov.·, Idaho, who Cello'!\ citizen. PMI)'S to his gods but order" them
claimed that he has talked with "The Great I Am?" Mr. Fitta about like flunkeys, whereas Dr.
God and, for a price, is willing to Robinson or ,\lo~cow, Idaho. fOI·
reveal the secret or a new religion lows convention and ~ets excellent
which he calls P~ychlana. Some The opinions exprened by rel!ulta, too.
paper& In Borne clUes mi~ht reject columnists and contributors • • •
auch COllY, but in J.os .\ngeles lh& whose writings appear in The :\laHtf'rll or the 1 Am religion can
notice ot a nr.w revelation It! no Post.lntelligencer are the opln· makP. thf'mtu!h·ell lnvl«ible. a knack
ll's!l 6thlclll thnn a routine ban:ain ions of the writer• and not 10 tl'mJ•t burgl;trR and ''lH~.Hlt It bE> that I have
latf'IY, tho Great 1 Am, also ot Los may be 11omeone we would like to IH'COtHI night, ror I vow I Raw the
Angelea, hnd fotll' nPw, expensive know." Pt'OJlhl\t Jllal~tly. nr. Robinson gets
Cllrl for bhn•clr and lllnff, time on "But , u reI y you know the hiR without rf'courlle to sorcery and
the air and an Rrcbl~>11l!!COpal I!Uite Great 1 Am!" 1 wheedled. "He 111 proud, nol to aay a shade vulgar,
at the btMt hotel In Lown. The has access to a lake of gold on on the aubjt>ct ot hill cash receipts.
Grtat 1 Am "'1\1 just out calling on Mount Shasta, and this friend of A box cAr A tray bls writing says
the trade, for I..o11 Angeles Is his his, the a acre d Three Tlmea he w11s, 11 bl'~gar, and, It J may
aee.t and the Callfornill. mountains Three, recently destroyed a num. suJtge!lt a word, a bum, who workf'd
art the • c • n e or his OCn forcl'd to and that
conferencea with the Racred Three bound, with a aword of purple dom, until one day be atruck up 8
Time• Tbr•e. the Jt'Tellt ascended flame.'' conYersatlon with God. 'foday he
spirit!! and a militAnt. ~~tnseoull God· "I never heard of the guy," Mr. owns the lar,;r.st offi1·e building in
force ldenUfled as K-17. Flttl said. "He isn't a big shot.'' :\IO$tOII, I d a h o, has a beautiful
��� • • "He can't be a big shot," Mr. hnmf' with 11 magnificent piJie
:J.a I ncall his rouf~> the c;rr.at I Klein nodded. I:'Rn and dri\(~8 a Cadtllac
'Am. known In prii'Rte lire n.s G. \\', ).(r. Fitts and )lr. Klein arP. blue 1dn~>. 11bllr. his wife drhe> 8
Ballnrtl, "'ould still be on lhP. road. I about God men. Occasion!llly thP> nulrk 11nd his ~on a Jo'ord V-8. His
ao I didn't bothrr to rail but did bave to bust up a 'lork for-- the llttlr. girl Isn't old f'nmu:h to dri\'e
mention him to ;\tr. Buron Fill!!, ~ake ot the Jambs. htch I~ a fine hf'r own, but just you wait.
Dec . 4, t 93c/3y W ertbrook Pegler
Dr. Frank B. RobiJlson of :\loscow, Idaho, has been an our mJdst brietly and bas endeavored to set your
-eorrespondent right on some matters pertaining to
tho God buslnc~ which is enjoy­Ing
a boom at the present writ­ing.
Dr. Robinson, who answers
to the name ot Doc, ls the man
who advertises that he was a box­car
bum but ta.Jked with God
and speedJly acquired a. magnifi��cent
home with a pipe o1·gan, a
Cadillac limousine for himself,
other cars, diminuendo, for his
v.1fe and ,o;on, "a Jot ot life insur­ance"
and a bank account suffl·
clent to wtthsland the tap of a
check ln five figures. He charges
$20 per head for a corr~pondence course in his
copyrighted religious phU060phy, called Psychlana,
and sicks a collectton qency on deadbeats. back­sllders
and flunks Who try to &YP him o! his pay­ments.
But he a,sserts, not\llith!tandlng his r!se to
v;ealth and this firm insistence on his ownings, tha'
he does not'desire to make money out of Psychfana.
H1S attempt to set your correspondent right thus
leaves your correspondent's confusion worse con­founded,
but perhaps you can flgure It out.
The Doc, who has been adverttslni 1n a New York
paper of late, said he was doing ~ lot or business
here and expressed cUsbellef In seve1·al current com•
petitors 1n the God business, particularly G. W. Bal­lard
of Los Angeles, known as the Great I Am. Mr.
Ballard's Widely scattered believers labor under an
impression-which may be conect, tor all your cor­respondent
knows oo the contrary-that he Is the
reinc~na.tlon of George Washington, that his wife Is
the reincarnation of Joan of Arc and that a. gaseous
God-force known as K-17 recently destroyed a fleet
of hostile submarines somewhere off the American
shores with a sword o! Purple Flame. They also shun
ontons and garlic a.<> being offensive to the Ascender
Masters. The least implausible o! all their tenets,
some of which are rather trying, they abhor the color
red .for the evil \'ibration~ which it projects Into the
world but nevertheless vow allegiance to the Ameri­can
flag and wee.r the same, red stripes a,nd all, on
their lapels. .. •
Doe Robinson lillY!~ be d~n·t believe a word of
Mr. Ballard's revelations, in!isUng that t~ey are
agains~ reason, and adds that, anyway, he cant make
head nor taU of the I Am religion. He refers to vari­ous
of these new philosophies and faiths, 1ncludl.ng
his own, as "Stuff." That. Is to say. he speaks of
''My Stuff" and Ballard's "Stuff," Father Divine':.
"Stuff" and Dr. Edwin John Dingle's "Stuff," this
latter being something ca.lled Mental Physics, Inc., of
Los Angeles, Cal., of course. His skepticism toward
the others and h1s scot!lng certt\lnty that they are
fallacious reminded your correspondent or Old Doc
Townsend's 1·ecent contemptuous val'dlct, delivered 1\t
the height of the Ham-and-Eggs campaign !n Los
Angeles, that the thlrty-Thursdny proposition wa.s
economJca.lly unsound.
In speaking of his stuff, Doc Robinson's tone 1s
one of proprietary pride and jealousy, like that of a
radio comic With a prosperous, sure-!lro specialty who
is wary of pirates and poachers. He says Ba.llard
called on him when he, Ballard, "was just starting
out:·
"' told him I didn't mind," the Doc 51\YS,
so he doesn't infringe my copyright. I Just warned
him t~ keep off my stu!!."
• • •
Nevertheless, the Doc fru.lsts that Ballard's stuff
in par.ts is \'ery :;l.mllar to his sturr. e\'cn though he
can't make head nor tail o! Ballard's stu!!. ''I am not
mterested in saving S